The first time I took my road test at 18, I failed, and I didn't have enough experience, or the confidence to be behind the wheel, so I left it alone. Also being a native New Yorker relying on the Metro for daily commuting, I had never felt the need to know how to drive until recently. I have a job which requires me to drive volunteers in our outreach vehicle to our project sites in different parts of New York. So for the first time in ten years, I began searching for a driving school whose rates were quite reasonable, whose instructors were friendly, patient, and abundantly knowledgable of the rules of the road; whose well-established reputation continues to be excellent and well-regarded; and whose lessons typically lasted more than an hour. All of this seemed hard to find at first. But then my grandmother heard an old family friend tell about his son's invaluable experience with this school, saying that "at Ferrari, that's the only school you'll need. They teach you stuff, it stays with you." Shortly after hearing this and reading glowing reviews published in websites, including this one, FERRARI was my answer.
I signed up with this office. I was assigned Stephanie Pasquino as my instructor. In the torrid summer weeks leading up to my evaluation appointment with Stephanie, I expected all of my driving mechanics to still be unformed, for my mounting nervousness of speedy drivers would dictate almost every move I made. I realized that to succeed, I had to put as much faith in myself to not repeat the dismal failures I had at 18. With this newfound aspiration and blooming confidence, I'd be able to internalize Stephanie's lessons to the point where I can finally operate a motor vehicle comfortably in any milieu, alone and with people. But before I can place such faith in myself, I had to see what kind of person Stephanie would be as an instructor. Would she be patient? Is she lenient? Is she a stern, icy driving teacher who induces fear in students than she's willing to allow? I was anxious to see.
The evaluation appointment came, and I sat with my fingers gripping the steering wheel as she sat in the passenger seat, looking up at the road ahead and down at the dog-eared pages of the DMV booklet in her lap. I listened closely to what she was instructing me to do: "Adjust your mirrors; put on your signal lights; go; apply your brakes; make a right on this corner; change your lanes; use your mirrors; slowly edge out as you look both ways; keep the speed down to 25; park here, come out, all-way stop sign--go only when it's your turn," etc. As I performed these maneuvers which I haven't done in so long, the mounting nervousness that were rattling my insides gradually eased away. The more I rode along, the more at ease I felt. I thought she'd be icy throughout the entire lesson, but the longer we rode around, the more at ease we began to feel around each other.
I signed up for their five-lesson package (5-hour class and road test included for $580), which was supremely worth it. Although I was unsure of how many lessons I would need to take, I realized that it was okay as long as I wanted to start to familiarize myself with the ways of the road and master my driving skills.
Stephanie helped me not only overcome my fears and anxiety of driving in the notoriously rough streets of New York City, she helped me internalize the maneuvers--as my family friend previously mentioned. When she opens up, she is hilarious. From there our student-teacher dynamic blossomed into a full-on friendship.
I passed my road test on my first try in ten years. I couldn't have achieved it without Stephanie P., who was as patient and gracious enough to instruct me in a way that didn't come off as overbearing. Driving around different parts of Brooklyn turned out to be such a breeze. Of course, it had its own challenges, but Stephanie guided me along the way, showing me that I have to follow my own lead and not someone else's.
It's been three months since I passed my road test, and the lessons, as well as Stephanie's relatively high-pitched voice and her biting sense of humor which made our times together worthwhile, remain with me.
If you are reading this in search of a high-quality driving school, search no further. I strongly urge Ferrari. read more