Now I know that there's probably no link here, but my extreme anxiety means that I can no longer drive a car. I first learnt to drive when I was seventeen back in the 1990s, but had a bit of a horrible experience with an old, pervy and irracable instructor. I reported him to the DVLA by the way.
When I was eighteen I tried again; this time with a younger family man who drove a dual control Ford Fiesta. After about seventy (yes, that's seven-o) lessons I passed first time. I was nineteen. Now, my grandfather had a Mini which he'd barely used since purchasing it new in 1977 and I attempted to drive that. I didn't like it: the gears were too stiff and the vehicle seemed too low.
In the late 1990s I gained a local job; instead of traipsing up to London on the train I could catch one bus to work. Unfortunately the bus was rubbish, so I decided to give motoring another go. I went out and bought a second-hand Nissan Micra and invested in some refresher lessons. It was truly amazing and it would be an understatement to say that I absolutely adored that Japanese runaround. I even drove to Suffolk in it.
I met the man who would later become my husband in early 2000 and he couldn't drive (at the time - he can now!) I left work, started University as a mature student the very same year. I was based in The University of East Anglia in Norwich. I sold my car and my academic career ended after two miserable months on campus as I couldn't cope.
Epilogue: I graduated from Birkbeck College in 2005 with a History BA. Great things can be achieved in the right environment.
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