Getting a driver’s license as an adult would be simple, I thought when I set that as my New Year’s resolution at the start of 2023. I romanticized the experience a bit too, telling myself it would make for a good story and some fun banter with bartenders when I go out.

But as I learned, getting a driver’s license at 30 is actually pretty unpleasant. I already dread managing the logistics of my life, and getting a license meant having to take driving lessons and schedule tests on top of my usual everyday tasks. Plus I had to engage with the DMV — the byword for bureaucracy.

To be clear: The District’s DMV location in Deanwood is excellent, specifically the staff. We got familiar with one another because of how often I visited: on three different occasions during a month’s time. Several of them cheered for me when I finally got my driver’s license that last time.

That’s my not-so-subtle way of saying I failed my driver’s license not once but twice. While I’m now finally the proud owner of a D.C. driver’s license, it wasn’t without sweat and tears. (Not an exaggeration: I cried at the DMV the first time I failed, which I suspect is a common response because my examiner knew just how to react with compassion.) Turns out learning how to drive in the city as a carless adult with a full time job is hard, not to mention expensive. I spent roughly $500 between lessons and test fees, a significant sum of my public media salary.

I decided to get my license in part because two close...

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