My experience as a new driver.

Yo. I hope you’ve all had a fab week.

It’s been nearly three weeks since I passed my driving test now, and it’s safe to say that I’ve experienced a lot in that time. Before I passed my test, I was aware of the responsibility I’d have owning my car, but I don’t think I appreciated how big that responsibility is! However, I love being able to drive and having the freedom and independence that comes with it.

There are a lot of people I know, and I’m sure many of you reading this, that are learning to drive and I have been asked quite a few times what it’s like to be able to drive now. So, I thought I’d share my experience of being a new driver – because it’s been quite a journey.

 

IT’S NOT EASY TO DRIVE YOUR CAR FOR THE FIRST TIME

When I drove my car for the first time, I imagined being able to get used to it straight away and that I’d be cruising down to the drive-thru Maccies in no time. However, when I tried to reverse off our drive, I stalled TWICE. Eventually, my Dad had to reverse it on to the road for me and then I drove it around the block a few times, but whenever I changed gears the car would lurch so much. I just couldn’t get used to the clutch in my car because the biting point is so high. I felt so disheartened after the first time I drove it, however I tried again later on that evening and actually managed to reverse off my drive and drive down to Sainsbury’s to fill up the car with petrol, which was a small victory for me.

Even after a week of driving my car I kept stalling all the time, however over the past two weeks I haven’t stalled at all (yippee!) so I’m feeling more confident in myself when I drive. I used to make mistakes quite a bit when I’d be driving other people around because of the added pressure of having them in the car with me, however driving my car now feels like second nature so I don’t feel under pressure when driving others around.

YOU BECOME A PERSONAL TAXI SERVICE

My mum loves the fact that I can drive now. I drive us to the shops, to the Leisure Centre where we’ve joined a Clubbercise class, and pretty much anywhere she wants to go. I also ferry my brother and dad around too, which they love – although, my dad still likes to tell me how to drive, which is quite funny. My dad has been the designated driver for our family for over 20 years, so I think he’s happy that he doesn’t have to drive us all around now!

The other day I took my friends to Maccies and drove them home from Sky High Trampoline Park, and they offered me petrol money but I felt too guilty taking money from them, so they just paid for my McNugget meal instead – winner winner chicken dinner!

LITERALLY 99% OF OTHER DRIVERS ARE IDIOTS

It’s not until you start driving yourself that you notice how many drivers on the road probably shouldn’t be driving. I never used to understand why my dad got such bad road rage, but now I can clearly see why. New drinking game: take a shot every time I call someone a twat whilst driving – guaranteed to get you drunk within minutes.

It’s mad how many people will take over you when you’re driving at the maximum speed limit – I was driving through town the other day at the 20mph speed limit on this narrow high street with cars parked on the side of the road, and this person took over me and zoomed off into the distance! Like, soz mate, I’m not gonna speed up because you want to get to your destination 5 minutes earlier than you would if you actually stuck to the limit.

The one I hate most is people not using indicators – especially on roundabouts. The amount of times someone hasn’t had their indicator on and I’ve been waiting at the roundabout to try and work out where they’re going so I know if I can go or not is actually ridiculous. IT’S NOT BLOODY HARD TO USE THEM!

The best advice I got given is to treat all the other drivers on the road as if they’re all idiots and don’t know how to drive. That way, you can drive safely and defensively. No matter how safe you drive, you literally can’t trust anyone else on the road.

HAVING A CAR IS MORE EXPENSIVE THAN YOU THINK

I went for the cheapest fully comprehensive insurance possible as all insurance for new drivers is SO expensive. I have a blackbox fitted in my car, so I can monitor how well I drive and in turn, if I drive well, I get rewards quarterly and get discount at renewal next year. So far, my driver score is 10/10, and my goal is to maintain that.

It doesn’t stop at insurance, though. It costs £15 to for a quarter of a tank of petrol (which lasts for a week), then road tax is over £100 a year. I feel bad buying myself anything now because I know that any money I spend can either be saved or spent on my car! However, the total cost of my car each month is still less than what I paid for driving lessons each month, so I should (hopefully) be able to start saving some serious dollar now.

That’s all I can think of right now, however as time goes on I’m sure I’ll realise a lot more things! Learning to drive is probably the best thing I’ve ever done for myself – I only got a job in the first place so that I could afford driving lessons as I didn’t want my parents to pay for them, and I saved up any spare money I had to buy my own car, so now that I can drive and it’s down to all my own efforts, it’s so rewarding.

Have a great week, I’ll be back soon with another post!

Love, Hattie X

May Favourites

Hey, you beautiful bunch. I hope you’re all well.

For today’s post, I wanted to write about all the things I loved in May. May is my favourite month by far; the weather is warmer, flowers are in bloom, and, of course, it’s the month of my birthday. What’s not to love about that?!

BEAUTY

Makeup Revolution Pro Fix Illuminating Spray

I HATE wearing makeup in hot weather. It feels like everything is melting off your face. I’ve been after a fixing spray for a while but didn’t want to spend loads, so when I found out that Makeup Revolution had their own collection of fixing spray I was delighted. I picked up the illuminating one because I personally prefer a fresh, dewy finish over a matte one, even though my skin is super oily. This spray keeps my makeup in place ALL day and makes my skin look fresh. It also makes highlighter pop even more, which is fab. I really would recommend this spray because it works wonders and you get a lot of it for your money – it’s only a fiver, which is such good value since you can end up paying four of fives times that price for a high end fixing spray.

Rimmel Wake Me Up Concealer

This is an old favourite of mine. It was my go to concealer at school, however when the hype over the Collection Lasting Perfection concealer began I was obviously all over that like a rash. Recently I’ve found that concealer to be too thick for me, and I really don’t like heavy coverage concealer or foundation, so I’ve gone back to this little gem. It covers up most of my dark under eyes; it’s not full coverage, however it brightens up the eye area so I feel like that makes up for it. It does what it says on the tube – it wakes you up. I get it in the lightest colour so that it really brightens up my eyes. I feel like you can’t go wrong with Rimmel!

Charlotte Tilbury Look In A Palette: Beauty Glow

I won’t go on too much about this one, considering I wrote A WHOLE POST about it, which you can read here if you haven’t already. But I have so much love for this palette, it’s unreal. The bronzer and the highlight have especially been my favourite recently, now that it’s summer. A wee bit pricey, but so SO worth it.

 

FASHION

H&M Mom Jeans

I can’t tell you how long I spent trying to find THE mom jeans for me. I just wanted some plain looking denim ones, but I honestly couldn’t find any, anywhere. Every pair I saw in shops or online either had embroidered patches on them, holes in them, or sequins running down the side of the leg – and if I did find some, they were, like, fifty quid. Eventually I found some plain denim ones from H&M when I went to London for my birthday, and they were only £24 as well. I honestly wish that I had caught on to this trend earlier because they are the comfiest jeans I have ever worn!

Primark Black and White Gingham Dress

This dress is the cutest little dress I have seen in a while. It’s the perfect length – not too long or too short – and is also quite flattering. It makes me feel quite young when I wear it, which I don’t know if that’s a good or bad thing, but I love it. I love wearing it with either my pink, white or silver converse because literally any colour goes with it! You could dress it up with heeled boots and a leather jacket, or wear it casually like I usually do. It was only £8 – good ol’ Primark.

 FURNITURE

Light-up Pink Mirror

I bloody love this mirror. I bought it with some Amazon vouchers that I got from both my great-aunts and uncles. It was £79, I think, which is quite expensive, but I wouldn’t have bought something like that for myself unless I had vouchers. IT’S THE CUTEST THING EVER. On the outside it’s a pink, standing, body-length mirror with lights around the outside. But, wait for it… It also doubles up as storage space since you can open it up to reveal this: 

Honestly it’s the best find I’ve had in a while. I am actually in love with it. Help.

PLACES

Anyone who knows me will know that I absolutely adore going to the beach. I’m not joking when I say that 80% of the photos on my phone are either of the beach, sunsets, or a beach sunset. The fact that May has been quite a hot month at times has made me so happy because anything over 15 degrees makes me want to go to the beach! I’ve mainly been going to Rottingdean and Seaford beach as they’re my favourite ones, just because they’re more quiet than a beach like Brighton or Eastbourne. I haven’t been in the sea yet – I planned to the other day but I almost leaped out my skin when the water touched my toes because it was bloody freezing! I’m going to Majorca with my best friend, Rowan, at the end of this month, and the sea will be so much warmer there so I’ll spend as much time in the sea as I can. I CAN’T WAIT!

 

FOOD

This is my favourite section. Food is life.

Couscous

I have been obsessed with couscous over the past few weeks. It’s so easy to make as you literally just pour a packet of it in a bowl with some boiling water and you’re done, which is great for me because I can’t cook to save my life. It’s also one of the only meals that manages to fill me up which is also relatively healthy. We usually have the Ainsley Harriot ones – my favourite flavour is the tomato and garlic one! They’re all so yummy.

Fish and Chips

Beach weather also means Fish and Chips; a truly British dish. I’ve had my fair share of it over the past month – I think I had it four times in one week at some point! I have to say though my favourite was the one I had in Rottingdean – the batter on the fish was so crispy and it was all cooked fresh, so it tasted amazing. I also discovered that you can also get cheesy chips in fish and chip shops now; a discovery that made my life 10 times better. My local chip shop literally does the best onion rings – THEY’RE HUGE!

One thing I’d also like to add is how the people of the UK are my favourite. May has been a frightening month, with the Manchester Attacks and most recently the attacks in London over the weekend. Our country has remained strong. We’ve stood up for what we believe in, and we haven’t let terror win. We’ve carried on with our lives and we’ve become united.  The One Love Manchester concert on Sunday was an event that will go down in history, and I couldn’t be prouder of everyone involved who helped make it happen.

May flew by, and I can’t believe we’re now 6 days into June! This year is flying by. My first exam is tomorrow and I’m bricking it… I can’t wait for it all to be over!

I hope you enjoyed reading about my May Favourites. What were some of your favourite things this month?

See you all again soon.

 Love, Hattie X