As I walked out of Cazares Driving school, I looked at my mom in disappointment and embarrassment. I never wanted to return to that awful place. All I wanted to do was curl up in a little ball and I didn't want anyone else to know what I had done. I didn't even want to hear what my mom had to say. As I entered the car I could feel my face burning like hell surely enough it was red like an apple. I was trying to hide my face in the palms of my hands as I imagined all the remarks my mom and brothers had to make. "Darling how could we have miscalculated six months?" My disheartened reply to every question was, "I don't know!" I knew this was a sign, I had to fail. I imagined how my brother and sister were going to make me feel. They had …show more content…
I parked the car and removed the keys from the ignition. While stepping out of the car, I looked at the paper that he had been taking notes on, and noticed that the blank piece of paper was no longer blank. With barely an inch to spare at the bottom of the paper, the instructor began explaining to me all the things I had done wrong. I felt like a little girl because of all the drawings he had made explaining every mistake. As I walked behind the instructor like a zombie, not knowing if that thought of failing the test was really going to come true, I could feel the color draining from my face. I was terrified I had waited so long for this moment and I knew all I did was wrong. I already knew what my mom was going to say when I saw her, of course the first words out of her mouth were "Did you pass?" I shrugged my shoulders hoping the instructor would answer the question. His reply was the same as mine, a shoulder shrug. Right at that moment all I wanted to do was break down and cry. I sat on the chair just as embarrassed as the time when I came in on the wrong day. I knew that I couldn't return to that dreadful place a third time. When I thought things couldn't go any worse, the instructor asked me to stand in front of the blue screen and get my picture. I thought that was picture was for the wall of shame. He printed out the picture and said, "Drive
How I Learned to Drive is the story of Li’l Bit’s teenage life. The 17 year old Li'l Bit functions as the narrator of the story, following her life between 11 and 17 years old. The story mostly revolves around Li’l Bit and Uncle Peck, the man who molests and sexualizes Li’l Bit throughout the story. The story makes the story itself into a story as a result of the narratorial and dissociative structure. The life of Li’l Bit, and even her description of events that are close to her in the present, is structured like a play and her running commentary is filled with humor, satire, etc (like she is a comedian making a joke in poor taste). This manner of narration implies Li’l Bit has an attitude of dissociation, or a detachment from from the events that she describes to the audience. The act of molestation is itself dramatized in such a way that it takes on the appearance of fantasy, losing with its reality its moral weight, and the molester, Uncle Peck, is not only a character of great irony but also of great ambiguity. He is never condemned for his actions; rather he is sympathized with, and he is unwittingly supported by his family. To truly understand How I Learned to Drive, one must not look to the text itself for answers, as the metastory and story are both different fictions (which hampers the use of psychological, social, and formalist critical approaches) and one may not look to an underlying moral message, as the entirety of the text is pervaded by moral ambiguity. It is in the act of interpreting our response by which How I Learned to Drive may be understood. How I Learned to Drive gave me a sense of religious optimism, amusement, anger, and bewilderment.
I sit in a dim lit classroom with my classmates all around. I hear the teacher’s raspy voice say “One minute left to finish”. I am so terrified that I might fail. I can’t fail, I can’t go to the Thinning, my family needs me and I can’t leave Jake. I know he will probably be fine without me and move on with his life, but I still like to think that he would need me. I have one more question, I tell myself. Then I will be done and I don't have to worry about the test until next year. Jake also promised me that tonight we would go out to eat at my favorite restaurant, Louie's Cafe. They make the best cheesecake there. It is my favorite thing ever.
15 year later, when I had actually grown up a lot, it was now time to take my D.S.T, I got up very early for it and walked sleepily into the room, sat down in the desk, picked up my pencil and went to work. (They kept us in that room for 5 hours, with only one bathroom break!!!) I sat there thinking to myself, I real got to go to the bathroom, for all of 2 hours. I probably shouldn 't have lied when I use my first one, for a fake trip to the bathroom. In which I really just did it to get out into the halls and read a book. (Hey I never said I was a Saint) After I was done with my test, I ran to the bathroom to use it....... After that emergency bathroom break. I walked sleepily home, to my house to go to bed, because they got me up at 6:54 in the morning for that stupid test. I needed a power nap, since I was so tired from the test and my early awakening. I must of been sleeping for 4 more hours, before I was even being physically able, to get out of bed. Three weeks later when the test scores, came in the mail, I nearly gave my parents a heart attack, when they saw my score. (My Dad had a heart attack later that day, when he saw my grade in Music class, an F-.) I scored a 500/600 in law enforcements, but
From then, I came to realize that if I had pushed myself harder like my sister had, I would have received the score I wanted, and that
Maybe this was a sign I was going to fail. I could only imagine how my brother and sister were going to make me feel. They had teased me about studying so hard for the permit test. Now here I was, not actual failing the drivers test, but failing to go on the correct day.
He said to me that he passed with an A and I felt incredulous when I heard that from him, because in truth I am smarter than him at math, but when he passed I felt dumbfounded. After doing my laps, pushups, and sit ups I gallantly walked to my next class because I now know that I can pass the test. After two other classes it was lunch time I quickly ate my lunch and ran over to the library to study the test before lunch ended. I felt like I was being tortured; I felt like I was going to scowl at my paper just because I was struggling with this one unfathomable problem. Then, a student noticed I was struggling on the problem, so he decided to help me and he showed the steps of how to answering the math questions. I finally got it! I thanked the student, the bell rung, and I went over to math class. The test was given out to us and
The third day of the exam is the math exam. I have built my math skills required for this test for two years, but I couldn’t solve one of the math problems. I was stuck in the middle of the problem. I was stressed out and been sweating from exhaustion. I looked across and saw one of the students have already answered the question. I was close enough to her to see her answer sheet without getting caught by the
As soon as I arrived at school, I took my calculator and pencils and proceeded to the classroom where I sat in my usual seat and waited for the teacher to arrive. I felt more nervous as I heard my classmates discussing information that could be on the test. Finally, our teacher arrived to the classroom and handed out our exams. When I thought she was about to tell us to begin, she instead placed a large grey bin on her desk full of calculators and told us that she was providing calculators today. Our teacher said we could lay our own calculators under our desk for the test so that there is less of a clutter on our desk. I thought to myself, what am I going to do now? I was using a different calculator. Our teacher told us that we may begin and then I felt
One day, my big brother came back from his college and decided that it was time for me to start to learn how to drive. I was really bored and had nothing to de at the time so I agreed. My big brother thought about it for a little bit longer and came up with the conclusion that it would be better if he taught me in Mexico to learn how to drive. He said it would be better because we can go to a deserted place where there is not a lot of traffic.
The first time I took it I had rushed through it. Therefore, I did not pass the writing, math, and reading sections that I needed by ten points. My second try was more successful but not quite fully. I took all of the sections once again and was nervous that I would fail since I kept thinking back to the first time I took those sections. The results lifted up my mood. I had passed the math and reading sections. Unfortunately, I had gotten a four on my writing once again. I needed a five in order to pass the section. I decided to give it one more try before I gave up. I studied harder than I had with the other sections since I had difficulties with writing. The following week I showed up to only take the writing section. I was overwhelmed with stress and sleep deprivation, but I wanted to get into MSA. Therefore, I stayed there and gave it a third try. I was asked to write about Mongols. To my advantage, my world history class was going over Asia. When I finished the section, I held my breath until I submitted the test. I did not dare to look at my grade on the computer screen until I saw it on paper. When the supervisor handed me the paper, a smile spread across my
I felt a shock go through my body as I numbed up. “Wh wha what did she want?” My math teacher Mrs. Armstrong was worried about me and the fact that I do all the work in class and homework and when it comes time to take a test I fail. My teacher was willing to let me retake my test.
I was so scared that I began to sweat and shake at the same time and I felt that was going to die. I thought that I did so bad on the exam that I was going to attend a bad school. While my friends went up to the teacher's desk, they were so happy as can be. Any thoughts I was thinking that my friends are going to attend a better school while I’m not. They were better than me in some parts of the exams.
I would always say back to them, that it was possible and I was going to do it. I study so hard for that test. I was so determined to prove everyone wrong, I was going to get that 28 or better. A few days’ later it was test day, and I was ready. 3hours later I walked out of that test not feeling as confident as I was when I walked in because the test was timed and I new that, but I was not thinking about the test being timed when I was studying for it and I felt rushed and it made me nervous, it made me feel like I was not going to finish a certain section in time; so on some parts I guessed and hoped for the best. A few weeks later I revised my test score and immediately I started crying because on my computer screen I did not see a 28 or better, but instead I saw a low score (I do not even want to talk about). I than knew, I do not do well at timed test and that I freak out. I Now knew I needed to be more realistic about the score I was going to get, and that it would probably never be 28 or better. I honestly think it is sad how we can have so much ambition about something but then realize we can’t do that, and we have to find another dream weather its short term or long term dream; we have to find something that we know we can
December 1996 was supposed to mark the end of my high school education and since I had consciously prepared for my core and elective courses, I had nothing to be afraid of; the future looked promising. Then December 3rd came, the day that marked the beginning of my final exams. I woke up that morning feeling hopeful and a little anxious which was perfectly normal. Then we went to the exam hall and settled to start the exam, then all hell broke loose; I started feeling dizzy, cold and sick. I remember vomiting which was accompanied by a throbbing headache but I didn’t remember much after that.
It was February 10th, 2015 when I had come home from school and had my dad take me out for driving practice. It was the day before my driver’s test and I had my dad in the passenger’s seat. It was a chilly afternoon and I was so anxious that I was excessively shivering. As I accelerated to move into