Thursday, 17 September 2015

Driving

Driving, Lessons, Exam


Recently I have done a driving test and I want to share my experience. Before I even started learning how to drive I never took driving and driving lessons and driving test seriously. I knew it was scary but I didn't know how scary it was or  how important and maybe how life changing it is. To me it just felt like some people make such a big issue out of it when it is not even that important. There I was wrong. 
I started to learn how to drive in my hometown in Lithuania and I drove on right side on the road. Since I was living in London for 5 years and I am used to the left hand side  it was a bit tricky but nothing scary. Sometimes when I had to turn into roads I would use opposite lane but I had an instructor to guide me. We had about 10 hours of driving and for me it was all about getting to know the car and the roads and the situations. 
After about 6 moths I was at uni and I had a big of money to spare I took more driving lessons. This time it was all about British roads and traffic. It was a lot harder than driving in Lithuania but it was an experience that I had to do. I wanted to do my driving test before I finish uni but when I did a mock test I failed it miserably that's how I knew I was nowhere near ready and by this time I had about 25 hours of driving. I knew how the car goes and how to control it but I wasn't observant and I did not plan everything in my head. My first instructor told me that you have to plan  5 steps ahead in your head to be a good driver. It helps concentrate and to avoid hazards and prepare for them. 
When my uni finished I went back to my mums and I had to get another instructor as I was living on the other side of the city and there was no point for me to take 3 hour journey just for some driving lessons. I wasn't particularly fond of my driving instructor either.
My third driving instructor was amazing. I relaxed with him and learned so much, how to drive smoothly and all the maneuvers. It used to be fun rides and I always used to look forward to it. 
A few advises before I proceed to the exam bit. 
1. Get an instructor which makes you feel relaxed and the one you can have fun with. If it is not working out for you change it. There were so many of my mistakes I learned from my instructor making fun of me and making me feel embarrassed about my mistakes but not in an offensive way. Of course not everyone is the same so see what suits you.
2. Only take the exam if you feel ready. If you are going to be thinking that you are not good enough on the exam then you will not pass because you are thinking so much you will miss something major that you will be done for. If it takes you 20 hours or 50 it doesn't matter, all the matters is that you pass.
3. The more cars you will drive the better you are at understanding them. It is okay to have 2 or 5 instructors as the cars change you only gain something for yourself that you'd probably won't be able to explain. You also feel more comfortable driving different cars. Do be scared to change things up, it's only good for you. 
Before my exam I was nervous and I mean really nervous. I had butterflies and all the bugs and I couldn't sleep or eat. It was horrible. I was never this scared in my life. Many people said that I am a good driver but I didn't believe them. On the exam my instructor said that he has hopes for me and it should be easy. I couldn't feel anything it felt that my body was gone and it is just my soul. I was so scared you could see it on my face. When I sat in the car with examinator and I started to drive and all the fear vanished. I started to drive like I was suppose to and I even enjoyed it. I knew I done some mistakes but I carried on. I failed.... My mistake was that I didn't signal when I changed lines and that was 5 minutes before the exam ended. I was so annoyed as I only had one minor and because of some signal I didn't pass. I had a few reasons why I was annoyed; one of them being almost the end of the exam and another was how much it actually cost. I am a student so I don't have a lot of money to waste. I had a few weeks to cool down with my range and anger and after 4 weeks I had another exam. Again everyone said I am good so I should be fine. This time I actually believed them and myself, which made me feel really ready. I wasn't scared as much, I still couldn't eat but I had a good sleep. I was fine. I had terrible traffic going on but I think it only helped me pass. It was constantly raining and the main road was closed so everyone was taking side roads it was chaotic but again with one minor I passed. After I passed I just cried. They were happy tears but because I cried so much it felt like they were sad tears. I still couldn't comprehend what happened and that I am legal on the roads. 
It turned out that driving licence was such a big deal I couldn't believe it. It says quite a lot of the person and to the person. At this point I had a lot of proud messages and I didn't understand why all of my friends being proud of me but it is a proud thing as it is uncontrollable by anyone. You can fail for so many reasons and majority of the time it wouldn't even  be your fault. Your driving does not rely on just you it relies on everything.
So my last wishes for you is patience if you are learning, cool down if you didn't pass and just enjoy yourself because eventually you will have your licence and you will realize how proud you are and how grown up you are. 

Yours Izabele
xoxo 

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