i’ve known for the past few years that there is a certain fear i must get over, but today a certain friend (who will eventually find this thread and have to comment, of course) basically got it into my head that i need to get over it and DRIVE. And use capital letters. Sorry. 
Anyway, i’m 19 and have had my license since I was 16 1/2, but I’ve barely driven in the past few years. Why? Well, about 2 months after I got my license (on the first try), I caused a lovely little accident, wrecked a guy’s car (he later dated a friend of mine and thanked me, since the insurance company gave him more money than his car was worth), and destroyed my confidence. I had also backed into a car while I had my permit, but that was not really a big deal (since my friend’s dad did the same to my mom’s minivan when I was at her house). So for over 2 years I’ve been victim to my own fears. I only drive if my parents nag me about it (I’m so proud, I went to get an oil change for my dad a few days ago), and while other folks my age are driving all over the place and getting their own cars, I sit at home and have to ask my mom to drive me places. It’s basically a burden on everyone, and I realized it today when the certain friend made me feel guilty about it.
Anyway, so I figure that my main problems are turning and intersections. I can handle hills, curves, and straight roads, I just have issues with turns, and intersections make my heart race. I think if I practice driving more, I just might ease my fears a bit. And I have to do this by myself, no others involved.
Tomorrow I think my dad is taking my mom’s minivan to the car doctor, so he’ll need me to drive one of the cars on the way there. Perhaps I should also start practicing driving some more. It’s a good skill to know, particularly if I want to get out of the house more often. I’ll start with the back roads, move to the town, then perhaps the parkway, and once I’m confident enough, PITTSBURGH!
So that’s that. It feels different using the shift key… :rolleyes: