Learning to Drive Manual for the First Time

Are you sure this is a good idea? I don't know about this. We'll be fine. At some point or another, there are certain skills in life that we've all probably learned. Some are more obvious, like riding a bike, how to cook something at a bowl, or knowing how to manage your time. Then there are the less obvious skills, a bit niche if you will. The ones that seem like it would be cool to know, but shoved onto the I'll get to it someday list. You know, like sailing. or chopping wood. As for me, I've always wanted to learn how to drive manual. There's two things I'm gonna need. The first one is a car. This is Nancy. She's a maroon 1984 Volkswagen Rabbit, aka my dream car. How I found her is a whole other story. She definitely has a couple of quirks. I mean, who doesn't? She has a little rip in her seat, a few chips, no power windows, no power steering, no RPM gauge, barely has suspension, and doesn't have a radio. But she's perfect, and she's mine. And she's a 4th speed, which is exactly what I need. Hey! Hey, how's it going? Just wanted to check in and give you an update. That's Jodi-Anne, my producer. She's the best. I brought her on to help keep me on track because, let's face it, I'm weighing over my head sometimes. So just wanted to double check, do you have everything for tomorrow? Um, almost everything. Because now that we have the car, all I need is an instructor. Hello, hello. This is Colt. We met in New York City around three years ago, and we've been in a long distance relationship for the past two and a half years. We take turns visiting each other in our different cities, and on occasion, one of us has an idea that involves the other. I figured since he's already in town for a few days to visit, I thought it was a perfect opportunity to throw this in too. With the popularity and ease of automatic cars, driving manual is a dying art. With an automatic car, the car ships for you. All you have to do is press the gas or the brakes and steer in the direction you want to go. With a manual car, it's a bit more complicated than that. You essentially have to control and run the vehicle yourself, hence why they call it manual. And you do that using two key components. First, you have an extra pedal, which controls the clutch. And second is the gear stick, which you use to select the gear you want. And you have to use them together to get your car moving. And if your timing or balance is off, your car will stall. For reference, I do know how to drive automatic. I learned when I was 16. My dad and most of the guys in my family know how to drive manual. And so naturally, the interest has always been there. But honestly, I've never actively pursued it either. Again, out of convenience and ease. And then it just never came up after that. Until now. Until now. That being said, I am excited to learn. And I'm also... extremely intimidated i wouldn't say i'm uncoordinated but at the same time it's been a while since i have put myself in this position where i have to learn a skill that is of this level you know there goes something i don't know what but it's gonna be something you got this girl we believe believe in yourself thanks all right girly okay i'm gonna buckle up for this one We're safe, right? I mean, hopefully. She's not coming towards us. She's going that way. I hope. You got this. You're not nervous, right? You can start the car. Put your clutch in all the way. We're going to start in first gear. Add some gas. You're going to need more than you think. More gas, more gas, more gas. Hold it, hold it. Now, slowly, off, off, off. Yep, yep, yep. Oh my god! Turn, turn, turn! You can drive, remember that. You know how to drive. Okay, boom. We're in first gear. We're in first gear. So just get a feel for this. So right now, it's good. You want to practice stopping? This is good. Yeah, she's coming this way. Clutch, clutch, clutch. When you stop, you need to put the clutch all the way in so you're in like neutral and then you can slowly just like break like normal. Okay, sorry. We'll be back. You're good. That's a great job. Yeah. Shit. Let me try stopping. Yeah. Get ready, get ready. Back to mate. Back to mate. Great job. And go. Oh shit! Okay, where's the three? You stalled! What did you do wrong? I let off the clutch. You let off the clutch while you're in gear. Okay. Well, that was a stall. Not too bad. Okay, so that's how it is to stall. I stalled! Yeah, we gave you a three for stalling. Oh shit. Start it back up, alright? Okay, okay. After a couple of attempts and misses... Oh yeah, yeah, yeah, clutch, clutch, clutch. I was able to shift the gear too. Okay, you're in second. Oh my god, I did it! I did it! You don't need that much gas. I did it! It was a big moment. And eventually gear three, which was definitely not as smooth. But there was some progress. Talk me through what you're thinking right now. I'm sweating. No, no, no, not your feelings on what you're going to do. Oh. This day was definitely a crash course. It was a lot of information to take in. And at one point, I was extremely overstimulated. But I think we figured out my learning style. Just tell me what to do. Okay. Don't explain it too much. And by the end of the day, I learned how to shift, downshift, reverse, kinda hill start, and in a panic, the clutch is my best friend. Now hopefully I can remember all this. Good job. Day one complete. Day one complete. Learning anything new doesn't come without its own hurdles. It's why we chase these things in the first place. And despite stumbling around in the beginning, there's a certain thrill to it. If we stick with something long enough, we have certain markers to track our progress. And like any person learning to drive, there's always a test to see if you really know what you're doing. And unfortunately for me, my test just got moved up. Okay, so tomorrow is my final trial. Truthfully, I thought I would have more time between learning and being tested on my skills, but Colt is only here for less than a week. And turns out the only day available to do this test is... tomorrow. That being said, I have a couple of concerns. The first one is so dumb actually, but I am only five foot zero and I cannot reach the clutch without a booster seat. We've tried different combinations and layers. The seat only goes up so far. I think the driver's seat is actually jammed and it doesn't go all the way. The seat keeps moving back. We've had to layer. a lot of booster seats. The main thing that I'm worried about is remembering everything and what order to do things in. I feel like I still have to think before I do a step versus it just coming second nature. I'm definitely... not there yet. My transitions are very slow. I think that I just hold on the clutch too long. I gotta be like quicker when I'm shifting gears. I still rely heavily on Colt's instructions and what to do and to explain things. God bless him because he was so encouraging and patient while I was literally fighting for my life. Truthfully, I don't even really know what everything does. like the purpose of everything but I learn better when I am actually doing it so hopefully that works to my advantage because that's just how it's gonna be. The only thing I have yet to do is shift to fourth gear. There's only so fast you can go in a parking lot so I wasn't able to do that. I still have no clue how that will be. Just one learning session and not even knowing how to drive stick for 48 hours is not a lot of time. for things to sink in. Honestly, it's been a tiring day and I don't even know how it's gonna go tomorrow. I'm past the point of being nervous. I think I'm a little bit numb to it. Maybe I'm in shock that I have come to this point. I think that's it. It's pretty late and I should probably get to bed. So wish me luck and yeah, Godspeed. Every now and then I end up in a situation where I ask myself how I got here. Today is definitely one of those days. Are you ready for this? Are you ready for this? No. The original plan was once we got to the track, I would do a quick practice run with Colt before being tested on various skills on my own. Simple, straightforward. That plan did not work out. I was excited at first, it was pretty thrilling to be on a track for the first time, but the pressure was getting to me after making a few mistakes, and I soon became flustered making even dumber mistakes, and my confidence levels were plummeting by the minute. You got this. Just thinking about a lot of things. Forget you guys. Hold on, she's learning how to drive real quick. It felt like there was a million things going through my head, and it was getting all jumbled up. And this was only our practice run. So after talking it through, it quickly became apparent that this final test was not really about taking off all the skills perfectly, but whether I could even do it on my own. Okay, so Colt convinced me not to completely give up and we did another lab to build some morale. Nice, good. That was a good shift. But sooner or later we had to pull it back to our crew and it was time to face the music. You're there girl, you're there. One detail of our plan was that when I did my test, Colt and the team would be on the walkies to give me instructions on what to execute. Speed racer come in, over. but the connection was so weak that I could barely make out what they were saying. Hi! Okay, I'm going now. With the clock already against us, we only had room for three laps. And it was one of those moments where you have to make a decision. Not gonna lie, I was questioning my life choices at this moment. But I had no choice but to focus. I'm in three right now. How are you doing it? Holy shit. Guys, the connection is so bad right now. And I am... Oh, I'm like freaking out. It was going smoothly until it wasn't. Ideally, I would just cruise on by, but even I knew that was wishful thinking. The car is really making a noise. Colt told me not to panic and when in doubt, take my time and reassess. Okay, okay. Let me see a third, let me see a third. Come on, a third. That's right, don't forget the brake. Ay yi yi. Things seem to be working for the most part. All right, downshift to second. And there was only one thing left to do. I think I need to get into force. That's the only one I didn't do yet. When you're a beginner, it feels like you're constantly fumbling around. And then suddenly there is this one moment where it actually feels right for the first time. The gears line up, your hands stop panicking, and for a second, you're not finding everything. You're moving with it. Not perfect. Not even close. But just enough to remind you that you're not totally hopeless. So I guess that's the truth. People can guide you, but nothing truly sinks in until you're out there on your own. And that's when everything you've been told suddenly starts to make sense. So I can officially say I learned how to drive a stick. Maybe I'm not a pro yet, but I'm at a passable level. And I could probably use any car in an apocalypse, which is good enough for me. Even though it was a bit stressful, I completely get it now. And I see why people love it. And I'm excited to continue practicing and learning more about my car. Life has been pretty busy lately, with work piling up and trying to balance everything, sometimes pulling me in all directions. But it feels good to learn something that demands you to be present, especially since things are about to get real busy.

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Credits:
Directed & Edited by Kariza Santos
Series written by Kariza Santos & Evie Yannakidis
Produced by Jodianne Beckford 

Cast
Aria Kumar
Colt Kirwan
Jodianne Beckford

Location Crew
DOP Nicole Shapiro
Oliver Arellano
Matti Haapoja
Spencer Torok


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