I grew up in Soweto, my father was a motor mechanic and a panel beater by profession. My mother was a domestic worker and wasn’t staying with us. She only came twice in a month to check up on us. When they broke up my father moved to Mpumalanga to start a new life and it was now difficult for my mother to fulfill my hearts’ desires as I was not her only child.

I wanted to understand the course of their break up. I kept on asking questions, but my mother felt that I was still too young to understand and decided that I would go and visit my father anytime I wanted. That actually made me feel better, because I was now starting to think that my mother was the contributing factor to the break up.

The school closed for the first time and I was happy that I was going to visit my father. When I arrived there I was bored, because I thought the place I am visiting is better than the one I left in Soweto. The difference was that I could eat anything I wanted at any given time. I tried my best not to show my dad I was bored, because I was then told that one of the cars in the yard belonged to me. The challenge was the schools were re-opening for the second term in two days and I didn’t want to go back anymore and I was fourteen years old. My mother fetched me and I went back home, patiently waiting for schools to close so that I could go back.

I wanted to know how to drive a car now that I had one. When I travelled I used to it in front just to watch drivers when driving. June holidays came and I didn’t waste any time in visiting my dad. I told him on the first day I arrived that I knew how to drive and he laughed saying okay. One morning I took a key and went to the 1400 Nissan van, I had ideas but I didn’t know how to drive remember and in my mind I was about to do it unsupervised. When the engine started running I had mixed emotions, I did what I knew and did it perfectly. For the first time I was so happy and I didn’t realize that my dad was watching.

Later we had a chat and he started telling me about a driver’s license. I cared less about that because I knew how to drive. The following year I was fifteen and I had to wait another year to get my learners license, but because I decided to do the right thing, I bought a K-53 book and started reading. After 2 months I felt that I knew everything in that book. When I turned sixteen I went to book for a learner’s license and because I knew how to drive I thought it was going to be easy. I wrote and failed. I was so disappointed and told myself I won’t call my dad and tell him, instead I rebooked another test. When the day came I was prepared, but I failed again, I felt so down.

Years passed and I was driving everyday with no license. Maybe taxi drivers had influenced me with their mentality of bribing our police officers because I started doing that and I kept on surviving. I knew I was not doing the right thing this time around.

It took 6 years for me to have my learners license in hands. That day I couldn’t forget, the day that brought nothing but tears of joy. It didn’t take me long in getting my driver’s license as I had invested my life on eliminating corruption and being a better citizen.

It’s better to be safe than sorry. We have to take full responsibility of our lives so that the future generations learn from the best.