With almost a week left until my seventeenth birthday I still find myself without a driver's license. It has been about a year and a half since I took driver's ed., and yet I'm still in the depressing situation of having my parents and friends drive me around everywhere. Up until this year I haven't really seen the need to drive, but now the activities that I do outside of school take up a lot of time and I realize how convenient it would be to have a license.
I am a really impatient person and I hate waiting for other people. I'm always the person in my family rushing everybody out the door because I just want to go. But anyways, every Saturday I find myself at Parkland for Anatomy & Physiology, never knowing when class will end. There are days where it takes the full three hours, and others where we take a couple of quizzes, go over some notes and are done within two hours. There is such a varied range that I don't know what time I should tell my parents to come pick me up, and even though I know it isn't there fault, every time I leave Parkland I am so pissed off because I have to sit there doing absolutely nothing for fifteen to twenty minutes. Yeah, I could do homework of some sort, but it's Saturday and after spending hours with dead bodies, all I want to do is go home and relax. What is even more depressing is the fact that almost everybody else in my class drives there, so I get to watch them all rush out while I get to sit inside a dreary, empty building.
I am trying to think of the last time that I was behind the wheel, and I'm pretty sure that it has been over six months. I'm too scared to drive now because of all the ice and snow. Considering how little experience I have, I would probably crash our car and then my parents would never take me to get my license. I've contemplated waiting until I am eighteen to go so I can avoid having to finish my "behind the wheel" hours with an instructor. I've heard that it is hard to get in touch with them, and I'm going off to college anyways. The only helpful thing about having a license would be if I went to the U of I, because my parents are trying to bribe me into staying in town by offering to buy me a car. But considering I want to leave town, I don't really see the point.
My frustration and impatience has gotten to the point that I have decided to make a goal for myself. I plan to get my license by the time I graduate. I haven't made any progress yet, but hopefully the snow will melt soon and I will be able to get in touch with an instructor so I can finally be free of this torture.
Yes I totally understand what you mean. I've been 16 for more than six months and I still haven't gotten around to driving. I didn't bother when I had time in the summer because I was biking and walking most places. I guess I wasn't thinking about how I'd get around when it got cold and snowy. I've decided that I better get my license this summer because it is starting to get embarrassing bumming rides off friends all the time.
ReplyDeleteGood luck learning to drive!
I completely agree with you - I have not yet gotten my driver's license, and, most of the time this doesn't matter because I take the bus home, but there are times where I have to beg friends for rides (which I always feel guilty about, because I can't reciprocate), or I have to ask my parents for a ride, which I also feel guilty about, since they certainly deserve a break from driving me around. But I keep putting off getting a new permit because I hate driving. But now that I've turned 18, the whole process is far quicker, and I must stop stalling.
ReplyDeleteyep I totally feel this. I'm turning seventeen soon too and I haven't worked up the nerve to contact the instructors... driving for twelve hours with a stranger is sooo unappealing!
ReplyDeleteWhen I first got my license, I didn't think that I was going to use it very much, but it became especially useful for getting home from basketball practices and games. Try and set aside 2 hours every weekend, and ask your parents if you can drive to/from school. This should help you rack up hours quickly. Also, the instructors usually let you skip your observation hours. I definitely sympathize with you though. Nice entry
ReplyDeleteYes, this feeling is very familiar to me with one exception. I myself am not particularly interested in driving yet. My mom is the only one that drives in our family of three, and she always complains how she is tired of driving everyone around. On one hand, I will gladly relieve her of having to drive me, but I know for sure that as soon as I get a license, I will be obliged to drive my dad all the time. And then instead of jumping into the car to go to school in the morning, I would have to wait for him to check to make sure that everything is off in the house, make sure the cat has something to eat for the day, unplug everything that heats up, and then finally check all of the doors to make sure that they are locked. Only then will he get into the car, and I will be sitting behind the wheel, very cross because I am going to be late to school... again...
ReplyDeleteSo yeah, I can see your point but personally, I am not too excited about getting this license.
Nice post! It is hard to get a hold of an instructor for your hours, but once you do, your hours go by quickly. You can also waive your observation time. I ended up driving 5 hours over 2 days and that was it. I can see how driving can be scary, but it's really great having a license. It's nice being able to go where you want, and not having huge time constraints due to your parents' schedules.
ReplyDeleteI know this won't make you feel any better, but if you lived in New Jersey, you wouldn't be able to get your license 'til you were 17, anyway. But you live in Illinois, so good luck with our goal of getting your license by the time you graduate. You can do it!
ReplyDeleteI agree with everything you said in the second paragraph. It is incredibly annoying to spend all afternoon in the cadaver lab and not be able to go home right away. I also have yet to take my driver's license test even though I was supposed to take it a few months ago-I just don't feel like meeting with Santa.
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