Life. It [Continues]

Alright. So I'm getting ready to write it. You already know what I'm going to be talking about and yes, it's what everyone wants to know. If you didn't know or haven't been following my posts, I'm talking about my first driving lesson.
It was today. I made it and I've realized that driving isn't all that it's hyped up to be.
The instructor pulled up in a yellow car. Mom followed me out to the front with her camera of course. My instructor, Mike got out of the car and going off my first impression, he scared me. He didn't look too happy. Katie was already out with him and he had been sitting with her in the car for 2 hours. Who knows if had to teach someone before her even. But, it's his job none the less. I had to learn. So I got in, fixed the seat and mirrors, and pulled out of the street.
Right off the bat, I had to drive out and onto the road. Well duh. Where else was I going to go? So I drove. It was weird. I looked around at all the cars around me and I wondered how I looked to them. Was I just some crazy, inexperienced, stupid teen driver or did I look like I knew what I was doing? Did they realize that I had never been thrown out to the road with a steering wheel and two pedals and expected to get from place to place? Who knows? But the fact of the matter is, I did what I had to do. Frankly, I don't really care. I'm learning and well, I'm going to tick some people off in the process but that's what I've got to do to get the driving deal down. With this all out of the way now, I'll mention that there were some shaky times. Like me not turning the wheel early enough or me not staying in the middle of the road. He had to reach over and grab the wheel more than once. I hated when he did that. It meant I was doing bad. The worst part was, traffic still moves around you so I had to keep pushing the gas not knowing how much I should push it or if I should brake. All this goes through your head simultaneously. It's hard to put into words.
About halfway through, he had me drive to a parking lot area where he set up some cones. I had to do K-turns and back into a spot alonside the curb. Now that I think about it, isn't that parallel parking?? Hahah I parelled parked and didn't even realize it. Cool.
So yeah we worked on this for a bit. It took me like three trys and re-do's. After I had done it, he stepped out of the car to talk on his phone, which is another thing he did often while I drove. As I'm sitting there waiting for him to get back in, I'm thinking, wow I'm in a completely unfamilar place (no idea where I am) with a guy I barely even had a chance to look at, and am in control of a vehicle. What a scary thought.
After my so called break, I lightened up a bit. I talked with him a bit but only enough to relieve some pressure. Keep in mind, I was still deeply focused on what I was doing. My mind didn't want to be anywhere but on the road. I had to keep thinking.
All this thinking is where I had a problem when coming back to the house. As I drove down the street and pulled up to the house I was still in focus, think, and listen mode. NOT talk and collect my thoughts mode. Mom, dad I'm sorry for closing up like that when I got home. I didn't mean to. I just needed a few minutes to relax and take a breather. Then I got frustrated with myself for not being able to explain my ride. I'm sorry. I don't want you to think there was anything wrong. There wasn't.
So other than my driving lesson, today was uneventful and typical. Oh yeah, gymnastics practice right after driving was great. It helped me soooo much to loosen up again and get back into my normal head. Exactly what I needed.
I'll be seeing Mike again exactly a week from now. Lesson 2 of my 3 parted lessons. I'll be better next time. Hopefully, I'll be able to get a look at him too and maybe even attempt to start a conversation. All in all, lesson 1 was what it should have been; a push to get me into the road. Actually, it was one really big push. It was a push into a bigger world outside of the passenger side of the car. This time, I was behind the wheel. No turning back now.


*Things I didn't mention....thought I would*
-I drove through Mount Holly
-The radio (95.7 BEN FM) strangely kept playing songs about highways. I wanted to laugh but didn't. Ex: That song thats like "My heart is a highway da da da da"
- He had to honk the horn at some lady who was driving bad. I honestly don't know what she was doing. Apparently, he did. I think she was in the wrong lane or something.
-Driving around was tougher than I thought. I wasn't used to there not being lanes down the middle of the road
-Mom took a picture...That's no big surprise (Love ya ma)
-I had no idea where I drove
-My legs really cramped up on me
-I think my breath was bad
-I was sweating a lot. There was a big sweat stain all across my back when I got out of the drivers seat. :)
-John said I drove better than Kaite
-It was often awkwardly quiet in the car