The driving force behind teenagers’ fervent need for a license is the desire for freedom. The freedom to go where you want, to be liberated from the chains binding you to your parents. No longer will you have to ask your parent to drive you to school, to the mall, to your friend’s house. No longer will you be dependent upon their schedule, their wishes. Most kids dream of this promise of adulthood.
When I tried to describe to my mother my complete disinterest in learning to drive, the comfort and even relief I felt in not having that responsibility, she was less than sympathetic. Parents want their children to drive almost as much as the kids do themselves. Sure, they feel a sense of worry and anxiety, but once their kid gets a license, a parent no longer has to be a personal chauffer, spending all their free time driving.
My parents’ less than subtle nudging is the only reason I have made any progress at all in finding driving school and studying for the tests. While my peers all are anxious to be driving, I’m not. In fact, I’m dreading it. The minute I am in that car I am responsible for my own life and the lives of everyone else on the road, a lot of pressure for a fifteen year old to be under. I’m afraid that I’ll make a fatal mistake, of failing, of not being worthy of the responsibility. But I have to get my license…as my mom says; she won’t drive me around forever.
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