Passage to Independent Teen Driving

This is how my journey started, I was suddenly pushed to have to drive after the passing of my father in July of 2021. My mother is employed, and I attend high school, work two jobs, and extremely active as a Sports Manager for the Varsity Volleyball, Basketball and Track Teams. Well, being such an active person and dealing with the loss of a parent, my mother could only do so much and needed me to step up and not be afraid to start driving to assist her with my transportation needs. She surprised me and signed me up for an online driving school, approved by the Texas DMV and encouraged me to take the necessary steps to study and move forward with passing the online DMV test. She asked me daily have you logged in and studied, she new the importance and how it would help us as a family to keep down any additional stress during this time. Well I passed the online course and got my learners permit and she began teaching me to actually drive (Parent Taught Process). Passing the test meant I was ready to move forward and actually put what I had learned to work, for becoming a responsible driver. Not only did she teach me, but always stressed that fact that you are not only driving for yourself but for others on the road as well. With me turning 18, I qualified to get my regular drivers license just this month (November) and what a journey.

Now, I am proud to announce that I passed the drivers test and am now a licensed driver. I must say I had some jitters before taking the driver’s test, I was nervous about parallel parking, but my mother removed all that fear. She took time out to take me to the DMV parallel parking area in the middle of the night to make sure I knew what I was doing. I laughed about it, but she made a song on how to parallel park, when I tell you I played that song in my head during the testing and it worked, I parallel parked perfectly. I owe a great deal of gratitude to my mother for her support and love during this process, Thank You Mom! You must be open to trusting the process, those who are working with you and to know that you must not let fear conquer your dreams and aspirations. Not only did I have the help of my mother but our village, which consist of close family members, neighbors and friends were also instrumental in my successfulness in becoming a licensed driver. Don’t get it wrong, I am a teenager and I will admit at times I was a little difficult to deal with, but they never gave up on me and for that I am grateful. As someone once said, “Everything You’ve Ever Wanted is on the Other Side of FEAR”.

The first thing I did when I passed the driver’s test was to go out to the cemetery where my dad is at to let him know I did it and hope that he is proud of the young lady that I am becoming. Now that I am driving to and from school, work and other places, the rules of the road apply and the rules of my mother apply. Before I leave for a destination and upon arrival I communicate with her so that she doesn’t worry and has a peace of mind knowing that I am safe. I never use my phone while driving, I keep safe distance while driving and don’t get me wrong I love music, but at a safe volume as to not distract me and so that I can keep my safe awareness up for emergency vehicles and etc. At first I thought this was a lot to take in in such a short time, but the mind is a powerful organism. I thank God for all of the many blessings that he has bestowed upon my family and myself. Now I can my family when needed to go places and safely as possible get to and from destinations when needed. This has taught me patience and responsibility, all in which is needed for growth on this journey through life. This is me becoming more resilient, stronger and independent for my well being and to those who love me most, Family.