OVERCOMING MY FEARS OF THE FUTURE H

AVE YOU STARTED driving yet?”

As a 16-year-old, this is a common question I’m faced with after I tell people my age. Usually, I politely reply with “no,” which is often followed by awkward small talk about school and the person’s own license test. Yet, the

I pleased. Movies I watched often portrayed high school as an age of freedom, where you can take yourself to the mall or go on late night drives with the windows down. Marking the beginning of adulthood, driving is a common rite of passage and one of the first indicators of independence. It grants a sense of autonomy and allows my adolescence isn’t permanent, and that adulthood is a landmark inching closer and closer from a once-distant horizon. For the past few years, the pandemic has stunted my perception of time. Everything has been moving so fast that I cannot believe I am eligible to wield the massive, metal contraption known as a car. with adolescence. ing at a snail speed down the narrow dirt path, I anxiously got off the road as soon as I could. This experience still remains the only time I’ve ever driven. While my outlandish descriptions of the road may seem dramatic, ever since I was in preschool, I biked to school. Living in a very bikeable city, I never was reliant on cars growing up, though I looked forward to my romanticized expectations of getting a car. This contributed to my fears concerning the license process and driving in general.

One intimidating aspect about being on the road is the uncertainty. Getting in the driver’s seat means taking control and constantly being alert to make quick decisions based on your surroundings.