On the Discomfort of Learning to Drive — Again
A process filled with humility, annoyance, and roundabouts
Yesterday I passed my driving test. Again. The first time I did it I was 16 years old and lived in California. This time, I am 31 and passed it in England —on the other side of the road, of course.
The fact that I had to do this whole process over agin — learn the highway code, take a theory test, pay for way too many hours of lessons, and pass a physical driving test—was a source of deep frustration for me, especially in a pandemic. But no one ever said being a citizen of two countries would not create a mountain of life admin you’re basically never done dealing with. If I ever wanted to legally drive again in either country, a learner driver is what I had to once again become.
Here’s something I now believe to be true: Learning how to do something from scratch with no prior knowledge may actually be easier than learning how to do something a slightly different way. In the latter case, you’re forced to unlearn your bad habits and dislodge your idiosyncrasies.
As I trained my 31 year old brain to diligently “mirror, signal, maneuver,” to pull the emergency brake on at red lights and stop signs (wtf), and to complete a full six point check every time I pulled away from the curb, I yearned for…
