Narrative

I had never really had much of an interest in driving.  I knew that it would be necessary as I got older, but it was just something that I never really put a lot of thought into.  Now that I was seventeen though, it was finally time for me to get my drivers license.  I had already gotten my learners permit and had gotten through all of my drivers ed tests so now the only thing left for me to do was practice for the final test.
     I had never been really confident in my driving abilities but over the course of several weeks of driving around with my dad I had gained a certain amount of confidence in my abilities to drive without crashing into a stationary object.  The regular driving was no longer a struggle for me, but in order to get my drivers license, I would have to also pass a maneuverability test,  This test involved moving the car through a series of cones and then reversing back through the cones without knocking any of the cones over.  I had been practicing it for about a week and while I had not gotten good at it, I had at least gotten to the point where I was able to get through it. That is why the practice session that took place two days before I was supposed to take my test was such a disaster.
     Like every other day for the past few weeks, I drove to a parking lot with my dad to practice the maneuverability test.  The cones were already set up so I began practicing.  I do not know what was wrong with me that day, but for some reason I could not get through without knocking down the cones.  Eventually, I stopped the car, got out, and began walking around the parking lot.  My dad got out and began trying to talk to me.  "I don't understand, he said, "you were able to do this easily the past few days."  I knew that he wasn't trying to ridicule me but something about what he said just set me off.  "I don't know", I muttered, glaring at the ground.  I was getting angry because at the time I thought that if I was unable to do this test now then I would not be able to do it at the test either. My dad suggested that I try it again, but at that point, I had already gotten angry and was finished practicing.  We drove home in silence and even after I had left the car and say down, I was still angry with myself for not being able to get through I test that I had been able to get through at least a dozen times.  I had always been critical of myself, and I just could not understand how I could mess up something that I had been practicing for a days. Eventually I got on with my day, but my worries about the driving test never really left my mind.
     Finally the day for my test had arrived and I still was worried about passing.  After waiting in line for about half an hour, I finally got into the test car with my instructor.  "How are you today?" my instructor asked me.  I was silent for a second but I eventually told him that I was a little worried.  "I'm sure you'll be fine, he said, "just focus on the road and you'll be just fine."  Sure enough, after fifteen minutes, I was able to pass the maneuverability test and was driving back to the license building.  As I was driving back, my instructor looked at me and said, "I told you that you would be fine and you just earned your drivers license".   I couldn't help but smile when he told me this and once I got back to to the building and told my dad that I had passed, pretty much all the anxieties I had over the past few weeks went I way as it finally dawned on me that after all the trouble and anxiety I felt over the past few weeks was over.  Despite my worries that I wouldn't be able to pass, I had finally done it, I had proven to myself that I could do it.