“I got my driver’s license last week.” A quote from a famous song that has gone viral recently. The song is about a broken relationship, but the only line that I relate to would be the one I quoted.

After a long, painstaking process of waiting, studying, taking tests, and driving lessons, I was able to get my driver’s license finally, and it just arrived in the mail as well.

It all started with me and my friend wanting to start driving last year, so after a careful discussion with our parents, we decided to apply for the driver’s written test. But first, we needed to get a medical check-up, which wasn’t that hard; all we had to do was get our weight and height measured and a few eye and coordination tests. Still, if my friend weren’t there, I would have got lost at the health center as I’m not a fluent Sinhala speaker and there were no English signs or speakers, but I was able to manage, and I got my medical which allowed me to proceed to the next step of applying for my driver’s written test date.

But applying for the written test was a journey of its own. I had to wake up at 5 am and get to the DMV by 6 am to avoid the line, but there was already a super-duper long queue even with our planning. My friend and I were confused halfway through, and then we ended up standing in the wrong line for 2 hours which was the most draining and painful experience when we found out. Then we had to stand in another line for 2 hours and after had to wait for another 1 hour for our numbers to be called to get our documents validated and our picture taken. After all that, I finally received my written test date paper.

After a month of studying, it finally came, the day of the written test!!!!!!. So my friend and I went to the DMV and waited in line for what felt like hours. But eventually, it was our group’s turn to take the test, and we sat behind computers, and then I just clicked a few buttons, and the test started. The test was relatively easy and was straightforward. After my friend and I passed our test, we took this note and went up to the office, and they gave us dates for the ACTUAL driver’s test. Sadly, my friend and I got two different dates meaning we wouldn’t be able to view each other during the test.

To prepare for the test, I joined a learner, and I did private lessons with my friend. We did a total of 20 lessons over the span of about a month or two. I did a few extra lessons afterward as I had more time than my friend as I did mine on the 12th of Jan In the beginning, I had a lot of issues with controlling where I went on the road  and  estimating the size of the car in relation to other vehicles. But with consistent work and my mentor teaching me, I was able to pick up the skills necessary. I also had difficulty reversing as I wasn’t able to determine the distance with the post and how far I have to go back before I turned. But I got some advice from my friends, my mom, and also the mentor. I was able to figure out a strategy for me and my reversing became really consistent.

Now it was the 12th of Jan, and it was my driver’s test day. I started off going to the learning center at 6 o’clock and getting my name filed in, and they took us to the DMV. Since I was coming from the learners, I was with four people whom i had never had been with, but they ended up being really nice people who help me through the process of signing in and getting my papers checked as I didn’t know sinhala fully. So we were put in the car, and we were taken to the driver’s headquarters, and I started at reversing. It was challenging as there were so many poles. There were so many other cars going, so it got confusing, but I could get past reversing flawlessly. But then they took me to the road, and it was only a short two-minute drive. Still, it was nerve-racking as the invigilator was strict and was also slightly rude, but I could park my car at the end and get a pass on my driver’s license, meaning that I officially received it.

The funny thing that happens next is that they drop me off in the middle of nowhere with my papers, and they just told me to call my mom, so I was stranded in the middle of nowhere till my mom came and picked me up. That one moment with something I would never forget and it’s a story that I tell all my friends for a laugh