I want to drive. So bad.

Courtesy of Warner Bros.

I have a confession to make: I'm going to be 21 next month and I still can't drive.

It's not that I haven't tried. Last Christmas I got my driver's permit in California. The test is so easy that you would have to be brain dead not to pass. However I was so busy visiting with my family that I had no time for driver's lessons the two weeks I was there.


My parents live in France, so I signed up for lessons while I was staying with them last summer. Even though I already had an American permit, I needed to get a new one. I spoke French, so it couldn't be that hard, right?

Wrong.

I spent the entire summer taking online lessons and still couldn't pass the written exam. Unlike the 20-question American test, the 40 questions en francais were designed to trick even a native French speaker.

After the exam, we gathered outside where each student squealed in delight when awarded their permit. In a failed attempt at humour, when the moderator told me I didn't pass, I pumped my fist in the air screaming "YEAH!" 

After raising an eyebrow, he suggested I take it in English next time.

I'm dying to get behind the wheel. I wouldn't care if it were just to get takeout down the street. I want the freedom that comes with the keys. The fact that I wouldn't have to ask my parents to take me everywhere. Or wait in the rain for a bus that's late.

As determined as I am to get my license, I promised myself I would NEVER drive in England. I'm too scared of panicking and recreating a scene from Final Destination 2. In that case, I'll have to wait until my next holiday to retake my exam in France. Merde.