just got my license in September (at the age of 22. heh). the area where I live has really great mass transporation, so all through high school, I never had a reason to get my license (and pay $2K/year in car insurance), and after high school, I went to college out of state, where I couldn't get my license even if I wanted to. it wasn't until I graduated and got a job where I really needed a license (before I got my car, it was a 2-hour commute to work... after I got the car, it was a 30 minute commute).
my mom tried to teach me at first, but after the first few days, I was ready to kill her. she did that thing where every time she thought that I should be breaking, she unconsciously braked with her own right foot.
driving school = much better.
it really does get a lot easier with practice, though. when I first started, I couldn't imagine even listening to the radio while drinking, much less fiddling with the radio buttons / controlling the temperature / checking all the mirrors. my first time on the highway was nightmare-ish. fortunately, I was driving with a friend, so they didn't freak out on me when I did stupid things.
hardest thing for me was turning... I tended to go too wide and too fast. that got fixed with some practice, though.
got into one accident when I had my permitt, but it was totally his fault I was making a right turn into a parking lot driveway, while someone else was making a left turn out of the driveway... everything would have been fine, except for the biatch turning out was in *my lane*. I tried to brake, but I hit the wrong peddle and slammed into her. no major damage, though, and she drove off as fast as she could, so I just lied to my parents and told them that I hit a pole while trying to parallel park