I'm In My Mid-20s, I just got my Driver's License in a Pandemic

I got my driver's license at 25 in the first week of 2022. I have lived in a city where public transportation can take me from A to B, so a driver's license is nice to have instead of a need for me. I had a goal to get my driver's license by the year 2022 since I did not want my permit to expire. Once I passed my road test, I was relieved that I earned the privilege of getting my driver's license. Pushing myself to get the permit and sign up for driver's lesson was a journey in itself. I had put those items on the back burner for a while, but once I had set my eyes on the goal, I committed myself to divert all my resources on getting my driver's lesson.

There is a new driver on the loose and it's me!

I actually took my road test for a second time because I failed my first one due to not practicing in a car for 3 weeks. That was definitely a mistake on my end and my ego definitely took a hit on that one. For my first road test, I only failed on the parallel parking part, so I spent many hours on the weekends practicing on my parallel parking.

If you are also struggling with parallel parking, here is the video that I followed and it works 100% of the time.

I watched so many videos on YouTube to teach me how to parallel park and this is the one that worked for me.

Here are the steps that I followed:

• Pull up to the car and make sure you are parallel with the car next to you.
• Make sure you are at least 2 feet apart from the car, not too close and not too far.
• Then you can backup until your front wheel is able halfway to the other car.
• Next, you can turn your wheel all the way to the right and then reverse until you are at a 45-degree angle or at the 10 o'clock angle.
• Then you will turn your wheels straight and back up until you see the triangle mentioned in the video.
• Next, you will turn your wheel all the way to the left until that triangle is gone from the curb.
• Then you will be parallel to the curb and shift your car in drive and straighten your wheels.
• Watch the video a few times and you will understand parallel parking in no time.

I did 10+ lessons with a driving school near me and it was definitely worth the investment to make me a safer driver. The instructor was calm and gave me valuable feedback on what to improve on. I had driving instructors before that never gave feedback and I felt like that hindered my ability to learn to drive to the best of my ability.

At the end of the day, I pushed myself to get a driver's license during the pandemic and you can too. It is okay to get a driver's license in your 20's, 30's, 40's. Driving is a privilege, so take baby steps to learn how to drive and you will be a new driver on the loose in no time.