Even though I finished driving school back in 2013, I didn't manage getting my driver's license until last September. After several failures, the most notable one being when I allegedly bent the wheel on my instructor's car, I was afraid to even take additional lessons. I completely abandoned the idea of ever taking another exam and was annoyed when people asked me about it. Although, in 2019 I finished a motorcycle driving school and got a license for that. So, last summer, after five years riding a motorcycle, I thought I would try driving a car again. What if some skills transferred? And I didn't have a goal of getting a license in mind. To overcome my fear and procrastination, I told myself that I'd book a lesson just to check my own skills.
When I told my instructor that I had finished school more than ten years ago, he wasn't optimistic. "I have a guy who got his license 30 years ago, hasn't practiced since then, and struggles a lot. We'll see what you're capable of." But at the end of the lesson, he said that I drove better than some of his students after months of lessons. I was pretty enthusiastic after that. I took lessons for two months, then took an exam, failed it once, and finally got my license a month later.
Not having my own car, I don't have many opportunities to practice driving. I rode with my father a few times here and there. I took a car-sharing service once or twice — it's very convenient, as you just use an app to take the nearest car, but it's not cheap. On New Year's Eve, my nephews invited me to hang out and I told them I wasn't going to drink. They asked me to drive them to their village 60 kilometers from town. It was snowy and the road conditions were terrible — that was an experience!
A month ago, my father slipped and fell on ice, fracturing a plate in his hip joint. He has to recover for two months, maybe even longer, and for several weeks he couldn't walk without support. So I went to help him. I gave him a ride from the hospital, then stayed with him for three weeks, running errands like getting groceries, and drove almost daily. After a week, I became very comfortable with the car. Some things, like finding a parking space or driving in harsh conditions, are harder than others. But, in general, driving is one of the easier skills I've learned in my life. And driving without exam constraints is a lot easier. If only I had realized this ten years ago. But everything comes in its own time.
