Personal Narrative : The Experience Of Driving

Driving has never been an interest of mine. Numerous movies and television shows make getting your driver’s license a monumental part of every teenager’s life. To most of my peers, it is. However, I have always preferred to enjoy my time having somebody else take care of my transportation. As I’ve grown older, I couldn’t help but notice more and more downfalls to driving. One particular experience with my uncle and two of my cousins stands out more than the rest. I will admit I should have expected something to go wrong while my uncle was driving; I had heard about his tendency to become distracted and his occasional wrecks before. However, none of that knowledge was going through my mind as I jumped in his car for a quick trip to his

There is a time in everyone’s lives, when they gain independence. There was a time when I asserted my independence and I broke away from influence and control of some things and my parents. I received my driver's license recently, and also, I got my first car. I gained my independence from this event. I felt I needed to be independent for many reasons. I wanted to become independent because I felt like it would make me become more mature. Driving on your own can be dangerous at times and requires you to have a high level of maturity. If you aren’t mature enough before you start, when you start to drive by yourself, it will shape you into a very mature individual. I also felt that I needed to become independent because I didn’t like relying on my parents every time I wanted to go

Mrs. Anderson had her driver’s license at the age of 19 years old and reminisced of gasoline then being 23 cents a gallon. She told the story of learning to drive with much humor. Her father had been attempting to teach her regularly from the time she was a little child by holding her on his lap and guiding her to steer. By the time she was 12 years old, she could barely reach the pedals, but she could

There was twice a week trips to a town half an hour away, and thirteen-hour drives to Pennsylvania each summer to see family. At home on the farm, my older siblings and parents drove tractors, skid loaders, and other farm equipment. The driver controls the destination; when I was driving I was free to explore, escape and deviate from the normal paths. Thus, I anticipated my turn to drive. Many others in that setting do not recognize the value of driving outside the obvious logistical value. For no one wants to be found lacking in driving skill while operating a fifteen-ton tractor and wagon. Yet when driving 'in the middle of nowhere' as many would describe it, driving becomes more than a way to get from point a to point b: it is a way to build relationships with those riding along, think, and explore less frequented

When I turned 15 and began preparing for my learner’s permit, my parents and I sat down together to discuss the circumstances under which I could drive my own car. They offered to pay for a car if I agreed to help drive my younger brother to and from his baseball practice twice a week. In addition, I would be responsible

It wasn’t until after I received my license that driving wasn’t as bad as I thought it was. I guess I just needed a little push as well as a confidence booth. I realized that tragedies do happen, and that they can happen any and everywhere, not just in a car. Before

I arrived at the DMV and of course there was a long line of people. Not only was there a long line of people, I arrived during their lunch break which meant there was only one person working. That one hour wait just turned into a two hour wait. The vivid smell of sweat brought back memories of when Landon brought his football practice jersey home for the first time all year to wash. The conversations between the people I was sitting next to were kept to a minimum. The anger was brewing between each person in the room because of how slow and inefficient the employees were. Only a half an hour left, I can do this. My time had finally come, I got up to the counter and of course my luck I didn't have two forms of identification; I blame it on my mom. I was forced to exit the line and go out to my car to get my second form of identification. Then, I remembered I had work in forty five minutes so I needed to hurry. I was able to to jump the line and go sit in the chairs in the front of the counter. After sitting there for thirty more minutes it was my time again and then I successfully got my driver's license and I was out of there. The next couple of days were a waiting game to see if anyone had found my

Today was the day that I could finally apply for a license. I waited 16 years (and one day) for this, and it was finally here. I couldn’t focus on anything in class that day as I was bursting with excitement. At the same time I was nervous. I was not sure if I would pass the exam. In my biased opinion, I was an exemplary driver, although, I wasn’t completely sure that the man administering the test would identify my remarkable driving skills. Thankfully he did, and I was granted with a North Carolina driver’s license. I was free. I was finally free.

I was one of the first students in my class and the first child in my family to obtain a driver’s license. Driving home from the DMV alone, away from the watchful eye of a licensed California driver at least 25 years of age, was a liberating feeling. Like generations of adolescents receiving their licenses for the first time, my smile was from ear to ear. But, along with this privilege came a responsibility that I had

When I first received my driver’s license, I did not have a car of my own. Then, my father surprised me with a used Jeep, but there was one problem: it was a stick shirt, or manual, and I had no clue how to drive it. My father offered to teach me how to change gears and use the clutch, which must have taken a lot of patience. I would drive around parking lots or down my long driveway every day until I felt comfortable driving on the roads. After some crying and stalling in the middle of parking lots with people sometimes behind me, I eventually learned that all it took was practice. It took me about a month until I was able to drive without having my father in the passenger seat, and now I am glad that I have acquired this new skill because

Next, I drove that magical car out to our farm. I slept out back by the bins in that car. I couldn’t think of another place to sleep. I could see something from in the distance, flashing lights. Going red, white, and blue. A police officer was coming, coming for me. He got me out back by the bins sleeping. I had woke up and he asked me for my license. This many knew I was an under-aged driver. I tried running away.

Learning how to drive is an exciting milestone in a teenager’s life, but it also can be a terrifying one. Going back to my 10th grade year, I didn’t have a desire to learn how to drive. I was afraid, better yet traumatized, about driving. All these feelings came from two experiences that had a major impact on my life. Two of my first cousins were killed in their first year of driving.

It is also the benefit of a passenger to prevent me from driving recklessly. I became even more of a risk to myself and the rest of the world. When I drive alone, I tend to travel faster than I should, take corners sharper, and play music too loud. However, because I care too much about what other people think, with a passenger, I try my best to avoid driving as I do alone. This nature of my driving when I drive only myself shows a level of immaturity within myself, only showing I still hold ties to my childhood. Nonetheless, the experience of driving has forced me to reflect upon my life choices. Through this reflection and realization of what driving really means for me, I have developed for myself a greater sense of

On the night of October 25, 2014 an incident happened that forever changed my perspective on driving. After only obtaining my driver’s license for three days, I had become too confident due to the fact that I was involved in an accident as a result of my human error. “Crashes and near crashes are more common in the first six months of independent driving than in the following year, a new study that observed teenage drivers using cameras and other sensors has found.” (Vol.46, No. 11.)

It was the end of another boring and somewhat terrible year of high school, my sophomore year to be specific. I had just recently passed my driver’s test after many failed attempts. I was the youngest person in my class and the only one without a car. I had been begging my parents for months for the car that I kept seeing in all the ads and commercials, but every time they would tell me, “You’re barely 16 and got your license by the skin of your teeth. You do not need a brand-new car, let alone a car in general.” They were right though,