I had never taken driving a car too seriously in India, as my job had a pick and drop cab service and I used auto during the weekends. There was really no need to learn to drive a car as I wasn't very keen to go out in the maddening traffic of Hyderabad during weekends, preferring to stay at home. What I had never realised was the independence that came with it.
So when I came to London, learning how to drive was never my priority. In spite of my dear husband's efforts, who already had a UK driving license, I didn't take it as seriously as I should have. My priority then was to get a job.
Within a year of getting a job, I had my first child. I was swamped with childcare and again driving wasn't anywhere in my list of to do things. When my husband used to go to work, I would be dependant on my other family members and that is when I started realising the importance of driving, and took an attempt to pass the theory test. In the UK, you need to pass both the theory and practical tests to get a license. The theory part is easy, the practical one is what most people fail at.
I started learning with one of the best driving schools, BSM, and trained over the recommended hours of tuition from them, spending a lot of money as well. On the day of the test, I was terribly nervous, but I thought that I would pass. I was taking a 50/50 chance. I failed. And that was a good thing, because I was almost about to have an accident trying to overtake a cyclist. The failure was a shock for me. I cried the whole night, unable to believe that I couldn't do a simple driving test. Little did I know then how long my ordeal would be.
Two years passed and I was then pregnant with my second child. I thought this was a good chance to attempt it once more. I went with the same instructor, an Englishman, and learnt it again. I attempted the test and failed. This time the reason was that I was too slow, double checking everything too much, and hence keeping traffic up. I was thinking "What in the world am I supposed to do?". Another night of crying.
I changed the instructor and the driving school as I couldn't afford the expensive classes and chose a local instructor who, to do him justice, was very good at teaching manoeuvres. I mastered them from him and had some more driving practice thinking I could pass this hurdle now. On the day of the test, I was confident, but I panicked. The road the examiner took me to was new to me and my nerves got the better of me. In that panicked state, I did silly mistakes, things I would never go wrong at. It wasn't a surprise that I failed. Again. The world came crumbling down on me. This time along with crying, I started to research on Google on how to pass a driving test. I read a lot of reviews of people failing, and the one thing that stuck with me was "Never give up." I suspended my driving classes as I was heavily pregnant and expecting my baby girl within 2 weeks. My second daughter was born.
Earlier this year, I was made redundant in my job, and that was a big shock to take, but I thought with my free time, I could pick up driving again. There was an old car we had, which I wanted to practice. In the UK a learner has to be supervised by an instructor/mentor. I wanted my husband to teach me but with a full time job and academic tuition classes, my husband never really had the time to coach me or take me driving. I was left to my own devices.
That's when I decided to take the step forward and book classes on my own. When I look back now, I think that was the first step towards my goal. I was determined to get it under my belt and would only book the actual test, once my instructor had told me to. That's when I met Aqeel, my third driving instructor. A friendly, approachable man, he knew everything about the driving test. He almost lived and breathed driving. We had a good rapport and I told him of my previous failures and also the fact that no matter what happens, I'm not going to let go of the license until I get it.
My redundancy helped in a way that I could fully focus on driving. I was lacking road sense, so every time my husband would drive, and mind you, he's really good at driving, I would observe him, trying to learn as much as I could. Though I didn't have much practice on our old car, the time I had with my driving instructor, I put my heart and soul into it. I also started watching videos on YouTube on driving.
On the day of the test, more than worrying about passing, I was only thinking that if I failed, I would reschedule as soon as possible again. The test went smoothly, this time I chewed gum to calm my nerves, followed Amy Cuddy's tricks on confidence, and went with a positive attitude... and I passed! I was elated! I couldn't believe it! I was so thankful to my driving instructor! It was a huge weight off my shoulders!
It was just perseverance, the belief of never giving up and positive attitude that helped me pass. And of course, God's blessings!
So when I came to London, learning how to drive was never my priority. In spite of my dear husband's efforts, who already had a UK driving license, I didn't take it as seriously as I should have. My priority then was to get a job.
Within a year of getting a job, I had my first child. I was swamped with childcare and again driving wasn't anywhere in my list of to do things. When my husband used to go to work, I would be dependant on my other family members and that is when I started realising the importance of driving, and took an attempt to pass the theory test. In the UK, you need to pass both the theory and practical tests to get a license. The theory part is easy, the practical one is what most people fail at.
I started learning with one of the best driving schools, BSM, and trained over the recommended hours of tuition from them, spending a lot of money as well. On the day of the test, I was terribly nervous, but I thought that I would pass. I was taking a 50/50 chance. I failed. And that was a good thing, because I was almost about to have an accident trying to overtake a cyclist. The failure was a shock for me. I cried the whole night, unable to believe that I couldn't do a simple driving test. Little did I know then how long my ordeal would be.
Two years passed and I was then pregnant with my second child. I thought this was a good chance to attempt it once more. I went with the same instructor, an Englishman, and learnt it again. I attempted the test and failed. This time the reason was that I was too slow, double checking everything too much, and hence keeping traffic up. I was thinking "What in the world am I supposed to do?". Another night of crying.
I changed the instructor and the driving school as I couldn't afford the expensive classes and chose a local instructor who, to do him justice, was very good at teaching manoeuvres. I mastered them from him and had some more driving practice thinking I could pass this hurdle now. On the day of the test, I was confident, but I panicked. The road the examiner took me to was new to me and my nerves got the better of me. In that panicked state, I did silly mistakes, things I would never go wrong at. It wasn't a surprise that I failed. Again. The world came crumbling down on me. This time along with crying, I started to research on Google on how to pass a driving test. I read a lot of reviews of people failing, and the one thing that stuck with me was "Never give up." I suspended my driving classes as I was heavily pregnant and expecting my baby girl within 2 weeks. My second daughter was born.
Earlier this year, I was made redundant in my job, and that was a big shock to take, but I thought with my free time, I could pick up driving again. There was an old car we had, which I wanted to practice. In the UK a learner has to be supervised by an instructor/mentor. I wanted my husband to teach me but with a full time job and academic tuition classes, my husband never really had the time to coach me or take me driving. I was left to my own devices.
That's when I decided to take the step forward and book classes on my own. When I look back now, I think that was the first step towards my goal. I was determined to get it under my belt and would only book the actual test, once my instructor had told me to. That's when I met Aqeel, my third driving instructor. A friendly, approachable man, he knew everything about the driving test. He almost lived and breathed driving. We had a good rapport and I told him of my previous failures and also the fact that no matter what happens, I'm not going to let go of the license until I get it.
My redundancy helped in a way that I could fully focus on driving. I was lacking road sense, so every time my husband would drive, and mind you, he's really good at driving, I would observe him, trying to learn as much as I could. Though I didn't have much practice on our old car, the time I had with my driving instructor, I put my heart and soul into it. I also started watching videos on YouTube on driving.
On the day of the test, more than worrying about passing, I was only thinking that if I failed, I would reschedule as soon as possible again. The test went smoothly, this time I chewed gum to calm my nerves, followed Amy Cuddy's tricks on confidence, and went with a positive attitude... and I passed! I was elated! I couldn't believe it! I was so thankful to my driving instructor! It was a huge weight off my shoulders!
It was just perseverance, the belief of never giving up and positive attitude that helped me pass. And of course, God's blessings!
