That’s right, crank up Olivio Rodrigo! You’re officially seventeen and you just passed your driver’s test. Your nerves can finally stop firing, and all the anxiety and stress from the exam is finally alleviating. Your new name is Miss/Mr. Independent, and you stroll confidently to your parents to tell them the most amazing news ever.

   No more waiting for them to take you somewhere. You can finally watch the school bus drive away without the feeling of your heart in your throat, as you sweat about how you’ll break it to your parents that you missed the bus. 

   Although you refuse to post your driver’s license on Snapchat for all to see your new rights of passage (only because you cringe violently when you see your deadpan expression), it doesn’t stop you from showing it when you arrive at school, as you twirl your new key chain around your index finger. Your smile stretches from ear to ear, and it feels like your mouth might split in two.

   My question for you is now what?

   Where will you go, now that you can get in the car and drive to wherever your heart desires? Is your stomach leading the way as you drive to your favorite restaurant? Or are you rolling up to the gym to get in that workout you’ve been dying to do, and know you can stay an hour or two longer because you’ll be driving yourself home? If you got your license in the summer, are you zooming to the beach to feel the sand between your toes with the music on blast as you sing your heart out? 

   Well, whatever you do please remember that driving is a privilege, not a right. With this freedom comes responsibility. Make sure your eye is on the clock and that you don’t stay out after eleven o’clock, be mindful of other drivers, always stay on the defensive, and most importantly, remember that it only takes a second for an accident to happen.

   Man, look at me being a mother hen! I bet that’s how all parents feel letting their child spread their wings, or take the car out for the first time.

   When you finally get your driver’s license, you’re taking a sizable, important step towards adulthood; one that should be celebrated, and not mishandled.