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My experiences in learning to drive were quite eventful. From crashing into a fence post, to four different instructors. Even having an instructor die the morning of a lesson. Things were not looking so good for my future as a driver. But eventually I got there.

Unlike most teenagers, the thought of learning to drive did not excite me. Instead, it reached a point where it actually caused me fear and I would not sleep the night before a driving lesson. On the few hours of sleep I did get, it would be filled with nightmares of what could go wrong when I drove. To my friends and family, these fears seemed totally irrational, and even to myself, now a qualified psychologist who deals with phobias on a regular basis. But driving is not my thing. Nor do I believe it ever will be, but at least I got myself a license.

I had four driving instructors in total. All of them were recommended by my best friend, who was always a step ahead of me but not too far ahead in the end. Our first instructor was a grumpy old man, who seemed to be driving the car for you, so you never really learnt anything. So we swapped to a much friendlier man. A driving instructor with only one leg actually. He was a total gossip and would talk about other students he had that I knew, and tell me what they did wrong. It made me wonder if he gossiped about me too. In the end, he gave up on me, after only 5 lessons, and told me to try automatic. So it took me around 5 years after this day to drive again. The friendly one-legged instructor did not seem so friendly anymore.

Somewhere in between my two instructors, I had gone driving with dad for the first and in fact, even to this day as a license holder, the only time. I drove dad's car to the train station to meet friends. It was my first and only time driving an automatic. I was doing okay, but then decided to be cocky and park in a parking bay. Somehow I missed the break or something, and left a nice dent in the front of the car, including a smashed light. I never lived that down. Mum claims it was due to being Friday the 13th, but personally I am not superstitious. It was probably a bit reason I lost my nerve on my driving lessons too.

So 5 years down the track, I'm 23 and finally decide to let my partner teach me how to drive. He had a small Corolla, which was old and good to learn in. We started out in a housing development area where houses were not yet built, then worked up to quiet weekends in an industrial park. Eventually it reached a point

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