As I walked into the door, I saw a long line already waiting for me. I was at the DMV to get my learners permit. I took a number, sat down, and studied the permit manual some more. Most people say, “Everyone fails their first time.” This made me nervous because I didn’t want to fail, and wait fifteen days to retake it. The DMV usually has the longest line. Luckily, my mom woke me up early to avoid the long wait. As I waited in my seat, I reviewed the signs till I got every description correct. There was no way I was going to get one single question wrong. People were coming and going, numbers were being called, and employers were getting a tad frustrated with some customers.
I finally decided to study for my permit test and passed with 100%. I got my permit late because I was lazy and thought it would be difficult to study for. After my boyfriend got his license, he helped me study for my permit. Because of him, I passed my first time and got every question right. I read the manual once and looked over what was more important. Some of my friends say the test was kind of hard. When I took it, I thought it was the easiest test ever made. The test was literally all common sense. The question would ask, “When you see a bus dropping kids off, what do you do? A: keep driving B: stop and wait for the kids and bus to continue C: take another route” I don’t know how anyone would get that question wrong. No one would run the kids over or waste their time taking another route when the bus stop takes two minutes.
Being behind the wheel can be scary. My brother tells me, “It’s just like those fun racing games, except your life is on the line.” That didn’t make me feel any better. My first day behind the wheel was fun, but a tad terrifying. My mom took me to my church’s parking lot to practice parking in a spot and backing up into one. At first, I thought it was stupid and just wanted to drive around the parking lot. While we were going up and down parking spots, my mom sometimes would yell if I were doing something wrong. That didn’t work out so well. This time, when she yelled at me, I stepped on whatever pedal that was under my right foot, it was the gas. One part of my church’s parking lot has a steep hill going down. I pressed on the gas and went on the ledge, but luckily pressed on the brakes right away. My mom and I were scared half to death, and she never yelled at me while driving ever again.
After my mom taught me for about two hours, I got the hang of parking and reversing and got to use my signals and go around the parking lot. The next day was much easier. My mom took me to a recreational area, it’s pretty small, but learning to park and go around helped. After about a week, my mom took me out on Reston Parkway and allowed me to drive home. I was nervous, but it’s a lot easier than being in a parking lot. It has now been two months since I got my permit, and I think I’m a pretty good driver. My parents say I’m an aggressive driver, because I tend to take chances and act like I’m an experienced driver. Since I’m a new driver, the rules are still stuck in my head, and when someone breaks the rule, drives too slow, or doesn’t pay attention, it makes me irritated. After only two months, I’ve driven to Annandale, Springfield, Arlington, and on 495. I’m not so bad after all.