Baby, You Can Drive My Car

24 years old, and I still can't hekking drive.

Maybe it's just me, but I feel like driving a car is a whole new level of freedom. You can do wherever you want, whenever you want, with whoever you want. Taking to the open road, going on road trips, grabbing french fries in the middle of the night just for the fun of it.

That's why so many 15-16 year-olds are so anxious and excited to get their license as soon as humanly possible – separation and freedom from a life living under someone else’s roof.

Unfortunately, people with epilepsy have to be seizure free for 6 months in order to have a valid license. I've never made it that long. I made it 5.5 months once, and boy was I psyched, but I believe my brain was like, "Uh oh, she's going to start driving soon... seizure ions, you on this?" And right on cue, I was back to waiting 6 months.

There's definitely something to be said about being able to drive. I do wish I had the freedom it provides, and I do want to stop feeling like a burden whenever I take someone else out of their day because I need a ride somewhere.

But you know, there's something about the car that makes people to want to talk. And who can resist a dance party in the car? Who doesn't sing along to the radio turned up loud?

I get to do that without paying attention to the road. I can watch the world flying by outside my window, watch the glistening rivers when we drive over bridges, see the shades of green trees turn into a blur, stare at the stars, or (maybe best of all) take a nap on a long car ride.

My friend and I have a tradition where whenever we're bored, we hop in her car and go to the grocery store and buy the most random thing we find, along with a snack and always a $.99 baguette from the bakery section so we can make home-made garlic dip and watch a movie.

One of my favorite memories is from when I was 18, about a month away from graduating high school. I was sitting in the passenger's seat of my friend's car in the early spring, where we spent at least an hour driving around just to find the prettiest flowers we could, and stopping at literally every garage sale we saw.

I used to go to an art therapy program all the way in the city on Saturday mornings, which meant driving about an hour there and back. My dad took me, and through those long car rides, we went through every Beatles album, chronologically, littered with trivia facts from my dad along the way (did you know that Ringo's favorite Beatles song is "Come Together"? Or that "Help" is the first song John wrote that was autobiographical? Or that "She Came In Through the Bathroom Window" was based on a true story? And don't even get me STARTED on "A Day in the Life..." that song has the most interesting backstory of them all).

I got no car and it's breaking my heart But I've found a driver and that's a start! Baby, you can drive my car. -The Beatles

Plus, I'm the one that gets to pet my pupper when she comes on our car rides! If that's not a bonus, I don't know what is.

But I digress.

My point is, it's definitely a bummer to me that I don't get to drive. I do get frustrated being so dependent on others for transportation. But honestly, being a passenger really isn't so bad, as long as you've got a good driver and good music. Right now I'm about 2.5 months from my license. In the meantime, baby, you can drive my car.