NextGen on Elevate Springfield with Ellie Ferriell: Teenage Milestone

Summary

In this episode, we explore the journey of getting a driver's license, the challenges faced, and tips for new drivers. We also share personal stories about driving tests, driving experiences, and recent events like a concert outing.

Takeaways

• Practice downtown driving before the test.
• Understand the parking lot layout and procedures.
• Stay calm and focus during the driving test.
• Driving is a significant milestone for independence.
• Older generations experienced different driving test procedures.

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Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Welcome to Elevate Springfield, where we will dive into strategies and stories that help you rise to your full potential. Each episode, we'll talk about how you can take intentional steps to elevate your life and your business while making a meaningful impact on those around you. Along the way, we're gonna bring in the change makers from our community that are already elevating. We'll bring the actionable strategies, you bring the discipline and follow through, and together we can elevate Springfield. Alright, let's go, y'all. Time to 10X.

SPEAKER_02 0:35

Hey everyone, welcome to Next Gen on Elevate Springfield. I'm Ellie and I'm here with my dad Robert.

SPEAKER_00 0:40

Together, we're talking about what really matters to teens today. From school and skills to pressure, purpose, and possibilities. We'll share honest conversations, practical strategies teens can actually use, and a little dad-daughter debate.

SPEAKER_02 0:56

This is about listening, learning, and growing. Together, let's elevate the next generation.

SPEAKER_00 1:01

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SPEAKER_02 1:47

Hello and welcome back to NextGen on Elevate Springfield. I'm Ellie and I'm here with my dad.

SPEAKER_00 1:51

Good to be back, Ellie, after Addy taking my spot last week.

SPEAKER_02 1:56

I've started acquiring your cadence for the intro. I do hear a little like hello, like, you know, you're a little drawn out. So whoop-de-doo, up thingy.

SPEAKER_00 2:07

Are you trying to say that that's a good thing or a bad thing? Because I'm not really catching which way you're going with it.

SPEAKER_02 2:14

Um the latter.

SPEAKER_00 2:16

What'd I say second? Bad thing?

SPEAKER_02 2:18

Yeah. Really?

SPEAKER_00 2:20

I don't think it's a bad thing. There's nothing nothing wrong with having a good cadence, Ellie.

SPEAKER_02 2:25

Yes, there is.

SPEAKER_00 2:27

That was a that was a little a little much. I'll give you. I was a little extra on that one.

SPEAKER_02 2:32

You went like this. That remind you really?

SPEAKER_00 2:35

That reminds you of the Santa Claus movie with the with the stepdad.

SPEAKER_02 2:39

Yeah. If you catch my drift. If you catch my drift, if you're a true Christmas movie fan.

SPEAKER_00 2:46

We're a long way from that. We're a long way from Christmas, though. I don't even know why I brought that up.

SPEAKER_02 2:51

Yeah, you're kind of weird for that.

SPEAKER_00 2:52

Yeah, I guess so.

SPEAKER_02 2:54

Well, we'll you should just reuse this intro around Christmas time.

SPEAKER_00 2:56

Yeah, we could do that. Make sure I save it as Christmas intro, maybe something like that. Yeah. Could do that. So what have we been doing lately?

SPEAKER_02 3:03

Hmm.

SPEAKER_00 3:04

Well since the last time I was on. It's been two weeks since I've been on, so you like I said, you booted me out of my chair last week.

SPEAKER_02 3:10

No, that was Adeline. I've always I've always been in your chair. Well, you know, I've been doing a little bit of school. Yeah, school in the summertime. I've been life of a homeschooler, right? Yeah, yeah. I've been driving.

SPEAKER_00 3:22

You have been driving, and I've been passengering a lot. Is that a real world?

SPEAKER_02 3:28

I think no it's not. Man, dad, for you having a podcast, your grammar should really be better.

SPEAKER_00 3:33

Well, I learned from you. You're the grammar queen.

SPEAKER_02 3:36

You've been a passenger princess is the politically correct term.

SPEAKER_00 3:39

Is that the politically correct term?

SPEAKER_02 3:41

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 3:41

Okay. Well, I guess I have been, especially over this past weekend. We were in that car for quite a while.

SPEAKER_02 3:48

Yeah, I think I drove yesterday for like an hour and a half straight and like looped in the same area.

SPEAKER_00 3:54

But I have to tell you, it must have worked.

SPEAKER_02 3:57

It did because today, on the day we're filming this, I just took my official driving test, like the driving portion test, and I passed with flying colors. So I only made one mistake, and that was the only points I had on my test, and that was it.

SPEAKER_00 4:13

Should I use like a when I edit this in post-production?

SPEAKER_02 4:16

Should I give you like a Yeah, yeah, wait, no, you should do like the trumpets, like you know?

SPEAKER_00 4:22

Yeah, I might be able to do that.

SPEAKER_02 4:23

Or just use my voice where I just said it. Just like like add a few instruments in there and use me as a sound effect.

SPEAKER_00 4:29

I might be able to do that. I guess if you're listening to this podcast and all you're hearing is us talking, you realize I did not do that. But if you hear a cool claim, if you hear a cool sound, you know that I took a little extra time on the editing floor to make that sound really, really cool. But I don't know, I guess you'll find out.

SPEAKER_02 4:47

Yeah, I guess I won't because I won't be listening to it. But you know what?

SPEAKER_00 4:50

How come you never listen to your own podcast?

SPEAKER_02 4:52

Because I I know what I said because I said it. Anyways. I know.

SPEAKER_00 4:56

I know what I say too, but I listen to every single one of my episodes. But that's mostly because I can't. I thought we were on topic.

SPEAKER_02 5:04

We weren't, we're not anymore because you just keep the blah blah blah, you know.

SPEAKER_00 5:08

Well, you like I said, you guys booted me out of my chair, and I haven't had my LE talk time on the on the show here, so I have to just continue to talk until you kindly cut me off as the host.

SPEAKER_02 5:18

Anyway.

SPEAKER_00 5:20

Sometimes as the host, you gotta drive the drive the boat here.

SPEAKER_02 5:23

So exactly. So since I took my driving test today, and since I aced it, I thought we'd talk about driving today, just driving in general, because as I'm going through my driving experience, my driving plot and storyline of my life, you and mom have been like, This is so crazy, because like all specific things I'm doing were so different back then when you guys were learning how to drive. I've also read a study on how there is like double the amount of cars on the road today than there was back when you guys were first starting to drive. So it makes it a whole lot more stressful because there's a whole lot more people on the road.

SPEAKER_00 6:02

I'm not sure I'm liking all this back in my day talk. I mean, you're really making it.

SPEAKER_02 6:06

How many times do I say that?

SPEAKER_00 6:07

I don't know. Well, maybe twice, I guess. Yeah. Making me sound super, super old.

SPEAKER_02 6:12

You know, I'm just a truth teller, so I can't bring myself to lie to our beloved viewers.

SPEAKER_00 6:18

Well, I guess it's listeners. I mean, this time in your life and in a lot of teens' lives, it is a pretty big moment, right? I know you haven't been I mean, you've been excited, but you haven't been like, oh, I can't wait to get my license or anything, right?

SPEAKER_02 6:33

I've only been like that because I'm like, I just want to get it done and just cross it off, like check. Yeah, but that just reminded me. I have on my goals list for this year for 2026, it says get driver's license so I can check it off.

SPEAKER_00 6:44

There you go. Knock them goals out.

SPEAKER_02 6:46

But yeah, just in general, just like getting it done. So I'm done with it.

SPEAKER_00 6:49

But I guess that's probably one difference between you and I. I mean, I was really ready to have my driver's license, mainly because of my, I guess, the independence it gave me. So get to do everything I wanted to do when I wanted to do it. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 7:04

Yeah. And another thing that I think is like interesting, and I know that you guys didn't immediately get cars when you turned 16 at all. But I guess in my life, one thing about the freedom aspect of it is that it is freedom. However, I still need a car to drive. So I kind of see it as the same thing because I can only have the freedom to go somewhere if you guys aren't using your car and allow me to use your car.

SPEAKER_00 7:30

Correct. Yeah. If you don't have your own car and insurance and all that stuff, I see it in the same way.

SPEAKER_02 7:35

I'm still kind of like hunkered down and roped to if I can use the car or not.

SPEAKER_00 7:39

Correct. Yeah, because you're probably not gonna have a car of your own anytime real soon, necessarily.

SPEAKER_02 7:45

And no surprise, 16 car.

SPEAKER_00 7:47

I don't know. We'll see. You got a few weeks before he turns 16. But one thing that's a little different with us too, and different in when you're when you homeschool, you have a little more flexibility in when the cars are being used, with both parents aren't getting up in the morning and going to work necessarily and need two different cars every single day for work. So you'll have a car at your disposal more often, even though it's not your own, than maybe somebody else might.

SPEAKER_02 8:13

Yeah. Yeah. And it's definitely convenient for, you know, if mom's home or if she's out with somebody else and they took their car. In those instances, it is nice to have your license and I can just take her car. But other than that, I do feel like mom's out and about a lot, so it's hard to just be like, could I use it at any any point? Just because most of the time we are all using it.

SPEAKER_00 8:33

So true. Well, why don't you maybe if there's a freshman in high school listening to this and they they want a little know a little bit of the the skinny on driver's head, give them give them the lay of the land on what you went through the past, I guess it's been nine months, because you did the class back last fall. You just wait to do your actual behind the wheel with the teacher.

SPEAKER_02 8:56

Hmm. Well, on the off chance that a freshman is listening to this.

SPEAKER_00 9:00

I doubt many freshmen are listening to this, but on the off chance you stumble upon this. We want to bring out in four some of the younger set. This is next gen, so we want to help them out if they do happen to listen to this.

SPEAKER_02 9:13

Hmm. Like advice or like what I either one.

SPEAKER_00 9:16

You know, it may be something that, hey, that's a little different than what I expected, or that's a lot easier than I thought it would be. Anything like that.

SPEAKER_02 9:25

Okay. Well, specifically for the class that I took. And my teacher does classes. My teacher, he just started doing them at Calvary, which is where I took it, but he does it at Landfare and everywhere else. And I'm sure that all the teachers across the board are pretty similar in what they do, if not exactly the same. So I'm gonna try not to be like, well, my teacher specifically, I don't know about yours. So I'm just gonna try and stick to like my thing. We do go downtown, so probably practice that before you drive with the teacher. It's really, I think people blow up downtown. It's really not that hard. It's just it's literally, it's it's just a little bit of traffic, but it's not like stressful traffic. You can still get over. The only thing I I kind of had trouble with is because there's so many lights, and there's if you need to change lanes, you're focusing on changing lanes and not the light. So then you really gotta be aware of both things, like not just one track mine. We don't want to run red lights or have to slam on your brakes in the middle of an intersection because that's because the gap between lights is pretty short. So you have to get over and know there's a light up here and know what it is, and if you can go or if you should slow down as you're in lane changing, all that jazz. But yeah, downtown is not hard. If you struggle with your turns, just practice that. But if you got all the basics down, it's not hard if you can do your turns. People always talk about all the one-way roads, but it's opposite. So, like if the first road is one way left, the next one will be right. And it just goes back and forth. And the one ways are not difficult, it's really just the nitty-gritty stuff, such as you can turn by the curve instead of crossing lanes like you usually do into your right lane for one ways, but it's really not that different. The traffic isn't stressful or bad or anything. It's just again, knowing those lights and stuff. We did highway, which is basically like our interstate, but we did not merge. You don't have to worry about merging, you just have to worry about other people merging. So like getting over and all that stuff, but we didn't have to worry about merging. The highest we got up to is like 65. We didn't exit either. We just went through Rochester, came back into town just straight. So yeah, none of the really scary stuff, and we did not go on any country roads at all. Some of the roads we went on were narrow and kind of bumpy and stuff. So you'll have that in town, but no country roads.

SPEAKER_00 11:36

Do you feel relieved that you got your test done?

SPEAKER_02 11:38

Yes. Yeah. So relieved. I was so nervous, but I'm so glad that it's over. And I just hope I don't have to test again. Because I basically did that test like 18 times because I practiced it so many times.

SPEAKER_00 11:50

So as you mentioned, I was the test for all 18 of them.

SPEAKER_02 11:55

Exactly. So I just really hope I don't get spot checked. Like it's not the end of the world. If I do, it's just inconvenient. I'm just like, ugh, I don't want to, though. I don't want to. I already got it.

SPEAKER_00 12:04

For those of you that aren't in the driver's ed world, spot check, they do what, like three days a month to where they choose three days. Choose three days a month. So if your birthday happens to be on one of those three days, you have to do the test there with them too. Otherwise, you just go in, give them all your paperwork, and you get your license, right?

SPEAKER_02 12:20

Yes. And I think that's another thing that changed since you guys were younger, because you guys would have to do two tests, right? Because mom was mom and meme, my grandma, were both like, I can't wow, I can't believe you might not have to do the test at the DMV.

SPEAKER_00 12:31

Or did you I don't I was thinking about that. I don't think I did it at the DMV. I think I had a situation similar to yours. I tested high enough, I got a good enough grade in the class where they had something to where you didn't have to do it at the DMV. Yeah. I don't know if it was called that when I did it or not, but I recall because I got a good enough grade in the class and because I did good enough with the driving instructor, I didn't have to do it at the DMV.

SPEAKER_02 12:57

Yeah, yeah, because it's both. I do forget about that because the because the class portion in class feels so long ago. But yeah, you have to get an A or B in class and then an A or B on the driving class.

SPEAKER_00 13:07

Because um I don't think I've ever had to take a driver's test at the DMV because Well, maybe mom and Mimi's scores just weren't good. Maybe they just weren't co-op eligible, but that could be because every time I've renewed my license, which as you mentioned, I'm super old now, so I've had to renew it multiple times since then. And I don't think I've ever had to I had to take the written test in there once, I believe, but I don't think I ever had to do a driver's test at the DMV in all of my Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 13:36

Well, actually with mom, she said she got spot checked, but maybe at the time she didn't know it was spot checking. Cause cause she because I'm pretty sure she has been surprised that we can just not take it at the DMV. So maybe at the time she didn't know it was it was a spot check. So I'm sure she got a good enough grade because she s had said that, yeah, I got spot checked and it was fine. So maybe she didn't know then, or I'm just confused either either one.

SPEAKER_00 13:58

Regardless. So, but do you feel a weight off your shoulders now that it's done? Was that one of your most stressful things?

SPEAKER_02 14:05

Yes, yes, it was. I literally told the other student with me, I feel like a weight has been lifted like after I was done, after I got my score. And you know it's bad when I'm I don't get anxious about many things anymore, but obviously I was anxious about this, and you know it's bad whenever I'm like watching a TV show or reading a book, and you know, some drama ensues, and I'm like, see, their situation is worse than mine. See, I could be in that right now, but I'm not. So, you know, it the the driving test won't be that bad. They they got all this going on, like that it could be way worse. And I'm trying to like gaslight myself. Like, there's so many worse situations to be in. I was so nervous. My goodness. Like, see, these characters got it way worse than me. I'll be I'll be fine, right?

SPEAKER_00 14:48

I was quite frankly surprised. I guess I didn't remember how long my test was with my teacher that when you told me the actual test was only 10 minutes long, I'd guess and I took you on that route.

SPEAKER_02 14:58

Yeah. It's like barely anything.

SPEAKER_00 14:59

Yeah, I guess I felt like it was longer, but I really don't recall. Because as you mentioned, that was a long time ago. Yeah, back in your day. Yeah, back in my day.

SPEAKER_02 15:07

That was a long time. Yeah. Our test was literally you start at the DMV, so you pull out of your parking spot, and then you get out of the parking lot. And it's it's one of those funky parking lots. We were talking and we were like, why is the DMV parking lot of all parking lots complicated and like damaged? The concrete was super brittle and it was like like as you're going over it. And he's like, you know, you'd think the DMV would have a non-confusing parking lot. You know, they're they're teaching you how to drive. But no, so it's a it's a one-way parking lot. So you know, you go out of your lane, then you get into the next one, you can go through, go down, get out of the parking lot, and then you turn into this neighborhood, take two turns, you go into the neighborhood, you do turn again to do your uphill, downhill park, go down, loop around the block, and then you do your roundabout. I still don't know why it's called that. It's just backing out and then driving away the opposite way. So you do your roundabout and then you do two main roads, so two lights, and then you're just in this little neighborhood, and then you just get back to the DMB from that little neighborhood. So it's just one big circle around this little area. It's barely anything.

SPEAKER_00 16:17

Yeah. No. Well, congratulations on knocking that out. Before we close out, one other fun thing we did since last time we talked on here. Went to the Levit concert last week. That was fun. Yeah, that was a lot of fun.

SPEAKER_02 16:29

I really liked it. The weather was really nice. Good crowd. You know, on your West Side Market podcast segments, y'all kept saying, you know, it's so nice out. Me, quite frankly, I was frying. But at the Levit concert, I mean, if you guys like to fry like French fries, that's I think it's a good thing.

SPEAKER_00 16:45

Well, it was later in the it was later in the evening in Levitt. So I mean, yeah, yeah, it was. And it had just rained. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 16:51

But regardless, the Levit concert was actually nice weather, in my humble opinion. Um, it was hot, it was warm enough, and it, but it was also cool enough so like the sun wasn't blaring on you, but it was still warm though. Still good summer night.

SPEAKER_00 17:04

If you haven't been out to any of them yet, still got a few left. Thursday nights right in front of their main. Check it out. So, well, congrats again on the almost license on packing on the passing of the test.

SPEAKER_02 17:17

Yeah, now I just need some more hours. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 17:19

One of those teenage check the box milestone moments, right? Yes. There you go. Another milestone in the book.

SPEAKER_02 17:28

When was my last milestone? Potty training.

SPEAKER_00 17:31

No, no, you've had milestones since then.

SPEAKER_02 17:33

I'm just saying, I was very good at potty training.

SPEAKER_00 17:36

You've had milestones all throughout your life, but that's one of the big teenage milestones that people like to hit.

SPEAKER_02 17:42

So yeah, the class portion feels like it was forever ago because that started in like what August to no, not in August.

SPEAKER_00 17:50

It was in September, I believe.

SPEAKER_02 17:53

Yes. Yeah, September to November. September, October, and November. That feels like it was forever ago. But yeah, those tests are easy as long as you're paying attention. And with the class also feels super disconnected from the actual driving, because obviously you use the things like the signs and the rules. Most of the stuff we learned in the actual class was about DUI laws and um like watching people get into accidents.

SPEAKER_00 18:17

The scariest stuff.

SPEAKER_02 18:18

Yeah, the scary stuff, like scary into, you know, being a good driver. But it was a good experience overall within the class and the actual driving portion, my teacher was really good. And as long as you're paying attention and just working on what you need to improve on, you'll be fine.

SPEAKER_00 18:32

There you go. Well, Elliot's good to be back in the chair. I hope I don't get kicked out again anytime soon.

SPEAKER_02 18:37

You probably will. Adeline really likes it.

SPEAKER_00 18:39

Yeah, you're probably right. So, folks, if you don't see me next week, you know what happened. These two, well, quite frankly, booted me out again.

SPEAKER_02 18:48

Well, thank you for joining us on NextGen on Elevate Springfield. We'll see you next time. See ya!

SPEAKER_00 18:52

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SPEAKER_01 20:06

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