Around when I turned 11, my older sister began the process of getting her driver’s license. That awakened a desire in me to drive and I couldn’t understand why 11-year olds weren’t allowed to. I tried unsuccessfully to convince my parents to let me get my permit, but was told, I “was too young.”

My readers will remember what it was like to get their driver’s license. While it differs from state to state, the process has become, over time, more and more burdensome. For many of my older readers, the process involved little more than getting a permit (or perhaps not even that) after a written and/or driving test.

The process has changed much. In order to drive at fifteen in Colorado, you have to take a 30 hour online course. After this, you have to take an online test before scheduling an appointment with the DMV to obtain a permit. With this in hand, young drivers need to clock 50 hours of driving, including 10 at night, with a parent. Additionally, you have to complete 6 hours of additional driving with a professional driving instructor as well as passing a driving test before getting that sweet piece of plastic and its associated freedoms.

Almost all of this process is run by private companies. The state doesn’t even do the fabled final driving test on their own anymore.

People often accuse my generation of lacking drive (pun intended) compared to prior generations.

The truth is, my generation didn’t create these rules, and I’m quite certain we didn’t ask for them. The cost alone to get a license and drive for one year as a minor in Colorado is over $4,000 including insurance.

My grandmother received her driving training in high school and it cost nothing to her.

While good arguments can be made that teenage drivers are better today because of all of these changes, these changes have certainly had an effect. Fewer teenagers work in Colorado than they did a generation ago. This is no doubt a result, in part, of teenagers having less independence because of all these changes.

But back to my story. I continue to work through the hurdles placed in my way. You can find me driving around in a 2002 Honda Accord owned by my brother. The car’s most distinguishing feature is the peeling black paint resulting from it having baked in the Arizona sun for too many summers under prior ownership. Impressively to some of my readers, this car is one of those rare manual transmission cars, a “feature” that only adds to the complexities I’m describing.

Nothing comes easily. Driving has taught me that. The process of being able to drive has taught me that. The lesson from all of this? Independence takes effort, but the journey is worth it.

Ruth Wiseman is a Woodland Park native and a dual-enrolled high school student attending Pikes Peak State College.