I first wanted to learn how to drive because I felt like I relied on a lot of people to get me from one destination to the next. I remember the experience of learning how to drive. Every move that was made was made because of a conscious effort, a second guess, and far from second nature. I took my first exam in NYC, where some people say, is one of the hardest places to take the drivers exam because the instructors are stricter and the driving rules are different. I said “first exam” in the previous sentence, because, yes you guessed it I did not pass the first time. Apparently, when the instructor tells you to Parallel Park, if you make contact with the curb, that was grounds for automatic fail. I accidentally made contact with the curb with my right rear tire, so there was no way that I could pass. The second time I took the exam I focused mainly on avoiding the mistake I made the first time and I passed with flying colors.
Fast-forward to today where I am in a country where the driving rules and direction almost seem to be the exact opposite of the US. The steering wheel is on the right side of the car and cars drive the opposite way, when compared to the US. When I first arrived, before crossing the street, I had to look both ways twice because I was not accustomed to change. Most of the cars on the Island of Ireland are manual and driving stick shift is not my forte. So again, I felt dependent. This caused me to feel like I needed to know how to drive a stick shift car. I asked one of my teammates and not only was he willing to teach me on his own time and with his own car, he was also excited about it. I am happy to say that I am progressing really well and I am becoming more and more confident in my ability to drive stick shift while following the new rules of the road.
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