Unforgettable Memory

It was not the most conventional or even legal way to obtain ones licence but I
assuaged my conscience by reminding myself that it was only one small part of the test and
therefore I could let myself off the hook for completely flunking it. Although, considering
that it was the part of the exam that actually required me to drive my vehicle on the road,
perhaps the guilt is not entirely unwarranted. Almost every culture and nation has its
stereotype- Americans are crude, the British are snobby, the French make good lovers, and as
for Asians? We’re bad drivers. As much as I disagree with stereotypes, I’m afraid that when
it comes to me, that last stereotype hit the nail on the head.

On a scale from 1 to 10, how would you rate your driving? No need to be embarrassed,
you’ll be comparing your skills to mine, so, by all means, let candor be your guide. Although,
in my defence, I would like to point out that my driving has improved significantly since I
took my driver’s education exam. There hasn’t been a single person who made me give up
the wheel and opted to drive themselves to our destination. This is exactly what happened
during my exam. The day started off well, then it got bad, grew steadily worse, and by the
time it ended I walk doing a veritable walk of shame towards my mother’s car.

The practice sessions went about as well as can be imagined, the gear stick grinding
like the outdate piece of machinery it was, the tutor glaring at me as I somehow managed to
scrape the underbelly of the car against every hump we drove up to due to me not slowing
down enough. Every. Single. Time. I was every teacher’s waking nightmare. In an attempt to
redeem myself, I studied hard for the computerized exam, and my cramming sessions paid
off! I only got one mistake on it. I admit, I left the room feeling unjustifiably cocky, not
realising that getting more than 5 mistakes would be a proof of idiocy and many others did
just as well, if not better than me. Ignorance may be bliss, but it should not be encouraged.

Next came the actual driving. By now I had come off from cloud nine and was starting
to feel the nerves creep back in. The hill exam went well, the grinding from the gears was
imperceptible to anyone but me and I can keep secrets. I lost some of my luck with the
parallel parking, I became confused with the cones and lines and I forgot the sequence that
my weathered tutor drilled into me. I managed to scrape a pass, but it was a close call and I’m
sure that if I gave the examiner more time to consider instead of driving away from her as fast
as was legally possible, the result would have been very different. Unfortunately, this was
obviously where my luck ran out, because in the next paragraph of this assignment, the
proverbial hit the fan.

I was already on edge from my poor performance on the parking section of the exam,
the examiner only added to that by getting into the car with an expression that told me he
would rather be anywhere else but in the passenger seat. In hindsight, I don’t blame him. If I
was forced to ride shotgun next to a person who knocked over 3 cones during a parking exam
I’d be pretty nervous too. I peeled out of the examination area and towards the main road as
smoothly as possible. At the turning, I flicked on my indicator, looked left and right, slowly
started to drive forward and almost got hit by an incoming car that I somehow missed. I don’t
know whose face was more horrified, mine, or the poor examiner who already had his hand
on the door handle. I wonder if he took the locked doors as a threat. I made my hasty
apologies, and tried to maintain my composure. I failed. I ground the car against every hump
like I had a personal vendetta against them, I indicated wrongly, if at all, and to an onlooker, I
seemed to be under the impression that I was in a game of bumper cars with the way I almost
hit every car that dared to drive too close to me. I must have looked almost maniacal with my
white knuckled grip on the steering wheel, my clenched teeth, tense, narrow-eyed expression
and the desperate apologies that burst almost unbidden from my lips every few seconds. I
don’t know what came over me. Even my earliest driving practices did not go this badly.
There was no excuse or reason for my impression of John McClane from the movie Die Hard
With A Vengeance. By the time the roundabout portion came about, my examiner had had
enough. In a slightly high pitched voice, he told me to park, push my seat back, and let him
take control of the wheel. And that’s how the rest of the exam progressed, withe me pressing
on the brake and oil as instructed and him steering the car. It was surreal, and, despite the
circumstances, funny. I was trying my hardest not to laugh because I really did not want to
antagonize my instructor more than I already did. The rest of the journey went by smoothly
and we pulled up outside the driving academy without further injury. The examiner then
turned to me, and struck a bargain with me. He told me that if I did not tell anyone that he
drove the car instead of me, he would pass me. In a decision that still vexes me, I agreed.
 I choose this experience because it provided me with such a cocktail of emotions, fear
stress, guilt, shame, humour, astonishment. Most memories provide us with a small number
of emotions to reflect upon, but this one provides me with a rollercoaster of highs and lows.
Despite its controversial conclusion, I savour this particular memory and I retell it with a
mixture of fondness and embarrassment. Definitely one to hold on to as the years goes by.
 Faculty of Education and Social Sciences
Bachelor of Education (Hons.) Teaching of English as a Second Language

CES2223
Academic and Writing Skills

ASSIGNMENT 1
The Most Unforgettable Memory in My Life

1. Neereyshia A/P Dharmendra 4171003431

2. Nur Khairunnisa Binti Mohd Nezam 4171004141
3. Siti Aisyah Binti Omar 4171004171
4. Siti Nur Aqilah Binti Zahari 4171004191

Group: SEM 3C

Lecturer’s Name: Prof. Md Zawawi Bin Shamroz @ Shamror