Don’t rush to get your license!

Alexa Ramos, Editor

One of the many joys of being in high school is getting your driver’s license. Teenagers focus on getting their license to drive around or hang out with their friends. That is only for a handful of students, however. Sometimes people think that getting your license is giving you the “full high school experience,” but that’s not the case. Your driver’s license is probably the least important thing to obtain at the moment. 

There’s a lot of pressure on teenagers to get their licenses, and it doesn’t help to motivate them. Adults make teenagers feel like they aren’t set for real-life if they don’t have a permit yet, let alone a license. Some people forget how much work and time needs to be dedicated in order to obtain a license. It’s not light work.

Adults can play a big factor, but there’s also the factor of peer pressure. Students can see their peers and friends driving around and think they have to do the same, but you should never compare yourself to others. It’s always risky falling into peer pressure, whether it’s negative or not.

Personally, I have felt pressured to start driving by the adults around me. People around the same age as me also made me feel pressured. I saw them all driving and I felt very left out but I trained myself to have the mindset “you have to be exactly like them.” 

I had the mindset that right when I start high school I need to get that permit. When I turned sixteen and went absolutely nowhere with the driving process, I just thought it would be better if I waited until I was actually ready. Also, I didn’t really have anywhere to be where I had to drive myself. 

Teenagers should never feel pressured to start doing things if they don’t feel ready, but unfortunately, society doesn’t feel the same way. They make the whole ordeal about a license into such a big deal, but unless you really need it, it’s not that important at all. The only cool thing about it is driving yourself to school, that’s it.

It’s a privilege to be able to drive and people forget that not everyone is ready to drive. It’s definitely a process that’s going to take some time and should not be rushed. Society focuses too much on having teenagers grow up quickly, especially in these times. Many people feel the need to grow up quickly, especially with the influence of social media. 

Whenever you’re ready to get your license, whether it be very long gone from your high school yeats then that’s perfectly fine. Driving is also a risky thing to do every day so make sure that you’re ready for it and be safe about the decisions you make. The bottom line about rushing to get your license is to get it when you’re ready. There is no need to rush anything because I promise the DMV isn’t going anywhere.