Student 1
A. Good Student
Dr. Rowe
English 1301 TR 11 a.m.
Essay #2 – Final Draft
28 Feb. 1996
Texas Driver’s License
If it were up to my sister, I would never have gotten my driver’s license. I couldn’t
seem to do anything right -- couldn’t get out of first gear, couldn’t make a smooth stop,
couldn’t shift gears correctly, couldn’t even drive straight.
My sister, Lupé, was my driving instructor, a job she hated with a passion. And I
could tell she hated it by the mean way she treated me. I think she actually wanted me to
flunk my test. She was the main errand runner for Mom and Dad and happy with the
position; she didn’t want me invading her space and let me know that by being the cruel big
sister.
“We’ve been over this humpteen jillion times! Now get it right!” she hollered.
“EASE OFF THE CLUTCH!!”
“I am,” I responded.
“TOO FAST!” she came back at me.
“I’m trying,” I answered meekly, almost in tears.
We spent weeks that seemed forever trying to get me to drive well enough to pass a
driving test. The winding road we practiced on grew very boring, very tedious, very
tiresome. Lupé and I would both arrive at home completely exhausted, she from criticizing
and I from being criticized.
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I took every criticism as a personal attack, especially coming from my big sister who
was grown up and had boyfriends; my big sister who had beautiful hair and a figure. And I
really tried to do well. I really wanted to impress Lupé and show her that her efforts were not
wasted. I wanted her to be proud of me.
I was persistent. No matter how she made me feel, I was determined to see this to the
end. I was determined to pass that driving test. I was determined to show her I could! But
most of all, I wanted her to like me and I wasn’t so sure that would ever happen. Not now;
not after all this.
Lupé would yell, “You irritate the you know what out of me! I’ve shown you how to
park before!”
“I don’t remember!” I hollered.
“Stop the car! I’ll show you again!”
“No, I’ll try! Ill do it!”
She was livid! I don’t think anything made her madder than when I did that. But I did
have some pride, some self-respect, some honor left in me. I couldn’t let her think I had no
backbone whatsoever.
So I nervously put the car in reverse, checked the mirrors, turned around so I could
see where I was going. As I eased backward, I tried to remember all the pointers she had
taught me. I turned the wheel slowly to the right, which made the rear end turn into the
parking space. God, please help me, I prayed silently. Then I turned slowly back to the left
and the front end was in place. I turned the wheel once more and moved forward just a bit to
straighten the car. Perfect! Thank you, God!
“I did it!” I wanted to holler, but reserved it for later.
Student 3
I looked over at Lupé as she said, “You did it,” with a half-smile on her face.
“I did it,” I repeated softly, my heart racing like a horse. I didn’t want to ruin this one
moment of peace we were experiencing. She wasn’t hollering or anything. She actually
smiled at me. She might even like me. I had actually parked the car in one space, without
hitting any cars, without even hitting the curb.
I asked Lupé to drive back home. My legs had turned to rubber and I knew there was
no way they would respond to any brain waves. Grinning, she agreed to drive back. We both
knew I had done well.
“I think you’re ready for the test,” she offered.
I was shocked and questioned, “Are you sure?!”
All this time she had really made me feel like the biggest dork in Wharton, Texas.
Now she was telling me I was driving well enough to take the dreaded driving test. I didn’t
know what to think: was she trying to set me up?
As we drove up to the Department of Public Safety on Hwy 59, I had this sudden urge
to turn back around. But I couldn’t chicken out; I had to prove my ability, prove my
worthiness not only to my big sister but also to myself. I grew confident. I asked God to help
me and put all my faith in Him. We arrived at the building and when we got off the car, there
was no looking back.
“I’m Officer Gilcrest. I’ll be giving you the driving portion of your test today. Are
you ready?
“Ready,” I spoke in a scared voice.
As I said goodbye to my sister and walked out to the car with Officer Gilcrest, my
rubber legs tried to take over. But I refused to let them rule me completely; I refused to give
Student 4
in. I prayed again, this time for the power to rule my own body. Let me be in charge, God.
Stand behind me, Fear. I could imagine God standing up to Satan.
Officer Gilcrest looked as if he had just stepped out of a magazine. His crisp uniform
and clean-shaven face, clean cut hair, shiny boots really spoke out about this man. He was
cute, too. But I was here to take a test and shouldn’t get distracted.
I remember buckling my seat belt, starting the ignition, putting the car in reverse, then
first. Everything for a while seemed like a blur. I think I must have been doing okay; at least
I didn’t run over or hit anything. I turned left here, right there, stopped behind the stop signs - everything was going just great. Until he asked me to parallel park. Fear stepped in, rubber
legs in obedience. I stopped and took a deep breath. I knew I’d lost the power over my limbs,
but I still had my head and I refused to give that up. God, where are you? I prayed and kind
of expected an audible response.
As I put the car in reverse, carefully noticing all cars around me, I tried to remember
all the rules. Check your rear view, side view, front view. Ease in slowly, turn right, then left,
then -- THUNK!! What the hell was that? I had hit the curb!! Being so careful not to hit the
cars in front and behind me, I forgot about the stupid curb! How stupid! How embarrassing!
How would I ever live this down?!
Driving back to the building, I tried to decide how I was going to explain this to Lupé.
If I flunked this test, I could never hold my head up or even expect my big sister to like me. I
would have wasted all her time, her energy, even her gas! I knew she would hate me forever.
Walking up to her, which I did very cautiously, I was about to tell her how I goofed
up, how I forgot about the curb, how I blew the test. But first, I looked at her face and saw
that she was smiling. Why was she smiling? That made it awful hard for me to break the
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news to her. Before I could utter a sound, Officer Gilcrest stepped up to me and
congratulated me. I looked down at the paper he handed me and saw a big “85” staring at me
and choked. Gasping for air, I hollered, “85!!” I noticed a gleam in Lupé’s eye as she leaned
over to give me a big hug.
I got to drive home. Lupé even asked me to drive up to Dairy Queen for a Coke -something she never did with me in the car. And she never asked me what I did wrong. But I
could tell she was proud of me or maybe of her own accomplishments. After all, I was her
first pupil.
A few years later, my little sister, Betty, was ready for driving lessons and it was up to
me to teach her. This little fifteen-year-old, big brown eyed, full of cheer teenager was about
to be taught a real lesson, just as I was taught. I thought about being nice at first, but I figured
she would never learn that way. I would show her nice after she passed the test.