Manual vs. Automatic

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The car I drive is an automatic. Meaning I don’t have to mess around with a joystick while I drive and my left foot falls asleep quite frequently. But alas, there are two very different types of cars in this world. (Self driving cars excluded). And those two types are manual, and automatic. Over this past weekend I asked my dad to help me learn how to drive a manual and let me tell you, it was interesting…

Why?

You might ask why I agreed to learning to drive a soon to be obsolete contraption. Well, it was in part because I thought it would be something fun to do, and I have to admit, I thought having the bragging rights would be a nice thing to have. Plus, you never know when there could be an emergency and the only vehicle around is an old VW Beetle.

I think by this point in my life, I’m just trying to gain as much knowledge about any little thing that’s around. As I said in a previous post, you should never judge a book by its cover. And that includes information that you think would be useless.

Beginning the Lesson

So, at early O’clock last Sunday morning, my dad and I stumbled out of bed. Both of us were hoping the other would decide that waking up this early was a bad idea and just go back to bed. But, neither of us did. So we went outside, and hopped into my dad’s old Escort. Now a car built in 1994 doesn’t seem that old to most people, however, this car looks old. Red paint fading and peeling off, handles on the doors about ready to fall off the door. But let me tell you, this is a reliable car. Not only has it survived my first attempts at driving, but it also kept its cool when we were nearly swept away in a flood one late and cold night.

Dad and I hopped in, and drove to the biggest, and emptiest parking lot we could think of. Then, we switched places, and the fun began.

The Parking Lot

Now, I have driven this car before. But it only ended in a flattened bush, and some more scratches on the paint. So this time, I was determined to not let my fears get the better of me. I wanted to know how to drive this car, and by golly I was going to do it!

So, I reacquainted myself with the clutch pedal, and slowly tried to move. This must have been the hundredth time dad explained to me that you need to get a feel for the pedals, and that you need to ease into it. Thankfully, the hundredth time is the charm, because I got it moving, and made a small loop around and area of the parking lot. To be honest, I would have been completely content with this little route, but I knew if this was the only driving I did that day, I wouldn’t be much further from where I started.

The Back Roads

With shaking hands and thumping heart, I eased out of my safe parking lot, and into a new realm of hills, bumps, and stops. Thankfully, because we started so early, there weren’t very many cars out and about, but when there was a car behind me, my dad wisely decided not to tell me.

During my first lap on this new course I killed the car. The engine stopped, and I started rolling down a hill. I was terrified. But strange enough, my dad started smiling. He told me to release the clutch, and remember to steer. I didn’t touch the keys and did as he said, and wouldn’t you know it, the car just started running. I felt like I had found a glitch in a video game that gave me an extra life. He then explained to me that I had popped the clutch, a term that I’m still trying to understand.

Making Progress

After a few successful laps of this course, We decided to start working our way back home. Now, in my town, there is a back road that runs about half the length of the city. This is great news for beginner drivers because you can practice on a semi normal road, without big scary trucks intimidating you.

I was getting more and more comfortable as I tooled down the road. The wind going through my hair, the sun shining through the car. It was a beautiful day and a fun time. Until, the cop showed up. I was stopped at an intersection when a police vehicle decide to join me. Having him behind me terrified me to the point that I told my dad I needed to stop. It wasn’t like I was breaking any laws. I was going the speed limit with a seat belt on a drivers license in my purse. It was just the fact of knowing he was right behind me.

That’s it!

I did do a little more driving on some roads closer to home, but that was all pretty uneventful. This was an amazing morning. Not only did I get out of the house and spend time with my dad, but I also got to learn and practice a new skill. Something that could really help me later in life. Now, I’m not saying that after this one day I’m a perfect at driving a manual. So I look forward to many more mishaps and adventures as I continue to learn.

Thank you so much for reading this post! I post every other week so please subscribe and check out my other posts if you’d like to read more. I hope you enjoyed this addition to my blog, and I hope to see you again as I keep exploring the world one step at a time!