Carla Gypsygirl's Blurty

Pleasant, positive, peppy and punk all start with the letter...
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I, Carla Gypsygirl, have finally achieved what I once believed was impossible. On the 19th of May, 2005, in a scary inner-city suburb and at the grand old age of 23, I FINALLY aced the test to get my P's. Yes! Yes! Yes!

Let me give you a bit of background information here, so that you can truly appreciate the reasons for my overwhelming sense of joy. My adolescence was fairly normal- I wanted a boyfriend but didn't have one, school was a pain but also kinda cool, etc, etc. But, unlike most teenagers, I completely forgot to learn how to drive. It just didn't occur to me. My theory is that I was too busy being an intellectual, bohemian space-cadet (if you can be all those at once). For example: rather than reading that 'Learn to Drive' book so I could get my L's, I thought it would be a better idea to read "Nineteen Eighty-Four". Instead of spending time learning the difference between the accelerator and the brake, I was splattering paint everywhere trying to figure out how to use watercolours and a sable brush. And instead of saving for a car, I was trying to save money to get to acting school.

By the time I hit my 20's, not being able to drive was becoming a pain. I could rarely go out at night, because I couldn't get home without a car. I missed out on a lot of fun times. But by then, I was so totally wrapped up in uni that I didn't have time to learn how to drive. Then, when I finished uni, I had no money to spend on driving lessons. So I only really started to seriously learn how to drive last year. It took me ages. Most people could figure it out in a couple hours, but it took me months. I got really scared of my car, other cars, lanes, myself, everything. It made me feel sad and frustrated and stupid, and I wanted to give up. But I couldn't- there was beginning to be no choice. Either I faced all the scary traffic and cars and stuff, or I spent the rest of my life not being able to hang out with my friends, and having to spend hours each day trying to get to work by public transport. I was getting tired of bothering people for lifts all the time, too.

On the 30th of December, 2004, I took the P's test for the first time. My intention was to pass just before the new year, so I didn't have to start 2005 with the same old resolution of "get my driver's license". I failed the first time, though, for rather ironic reasons. You see, usually I speed slightly, so for my first test, I thought I would be more likely to pass if I took it easy on the accelerator. I ended up driving 20 k's under the speed limit, and they failed me for that.

So, five months later, I found myself feeling totally sick and freaked out at taking the test again. I was so nervous during the test that the examiner said "It's okay- just relax." He even started chatting to me, and asked me questions about my salary. Okay, so it was weird, but I'm not complaining, because the dude passed me!

After 77 hours of driving, disgusting amounts of money paid to driving schools, hours sitting next to driving instructors when I really would have rather have been with my boyfriend instead, nights spent at work trying to make up for the time I took off to take lessons...I finally passed. I got back to work after the test, and everyone was cheering for me. Samantha even made me a sign with a big red 'P' in the middle of it that said "Who's cool now? Congratulations!" My family were lovely about it- Zachary's toys even congratulated me. And, of course, there was my lovely Geoff saying, "That's wonderful, honey!"

I still haven't gone for a drive yet, because driving still freaks me out. But I feel really good that I conquered something that scared me. It's funny writing about this. It seems like it shouldn't have been such a big deal. But not having my license really bothered me. It feels really great to have finally sorted it all out. Most of all, I feel really grateful to God that I passed. Most of the time, I felt like a hopeless driver who couldn't learn anything, but God gave me the strength and bravery to keep pressing on and learning and practicing. I know that it is only because of Him that I passed this second time. I (and so many of my friends and family) were praying so hard for me! God is certainly merciful and generous to me.