If you had told me this time last year that I’d have been driving for a whole year, I would never have believed you. I genuinely didn’t think this day was coming!
After putting it off for so long and failing a few times, let’s not talk about that. Convincing myself I didn’t really need to drive and generally being absolutely terrified of the whole thing, I finally passed, and life is completely different.
It’s definitely not all been plain sailing. My first year of driving has included everything from nervous little trips around Stafford to motorway drives, family days out, getting into an accident and having my first car written off. Casual!
But somewhere along the way, without really noticing it, I stopped being scared of driving and just became a driver.
So, one year on from passing my test, I thought I’d have a little ramble about what my first year of driving has actually been like.
I’m not going to sit here and say it’s been the best because it hasn’t. I passed my test and was actually scared to drive on my own. I think we all go through that, right? Or maybe it’s just me, but I needed Steve, my driving instructor, with me!
I actually miss him sometimes. He was brilliant, patient, funny, and really let me learn in the way I needed to.
For ages, school runs were literally all I did, along with the odd supermarket trip. Any new route and I panicked, and don’t even get me started on driving into town. Trying to get out at a certain junction terrified me every single time, so I’d tell myself I didn’t need to go until I had someone in the car with me.
Then I had the car crash, which wasn’t even really a crash on my part because someone smashed into the back of me while I was sitting at a red light. Honestly, my luck is wild, right?!
That definitely gave me some anxiety, and even now I’m always checking my rear-view mirror if another driver is getting a little too close, but thank god it didn’t stop me from driving.
Fast forward a year and I’ve been all over!
We’ve had family day trips to Alton Towers, Snugburys Ice Cream Farm and loads of other places, and then I started doing longer trips on my own to try and build up my confidence.
I drove to Cannock, Stafford, Tamworth and Birmingham, all whilst having a slightly twitchy bum! :) The motorway was so scary at first, but I did every single journey and was so proud of myself afterwards.
Then came the big one: driving to my mum’s in Norfolk.
This was something I really wanted to do within my first year of driving, almost like a little challenge I’d set myself, and I can't believe it, but I was absolutely fine.
I didn’t panic at all. Alessia and I sang our hearts out all the way there, the sun was shining, and I had one of those little moments where I felt like I could do anything.
A little soppy, I know, but there was a time when I genuinely didn’t think the day would come when I’d be driving all the way to my mum’s myself and have this much independence
Then a last-minute Butlin’s holiday meant another crazy drive, over four and a half hours to Somerset and on the way back it was 6 because of traffic!
I was a little apprehensive about how long I’d be driving for, but again, I just did it. No drama, no panic and motorways really don’t bother me anymore. I don’t even bat an eyelid now when I have to drive somewhere new, which is absolutely WILD compared to me a year ago.
I drive to my partner’s in Birmingham all the time now, something that would have absolutely terrified me when I first passed, and I’m really looking forward to some more road trips this autumn.
Driving has given me so much more freedom than I ever expected. I can take the girls out for the day, visit my mum, go away, make last-minute plans and just get in the car and go without having to rely on anyone else.
It might have taken me a little longer than I wanted to get here, and my first year definitely hasn’t gone completely to plan, but I’m bloody proud of myself.
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