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!
Excellent! I'm sure you're enjoying driving through the English countryside!
ReplyDeleteThank you!
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