"The epitome of competition"
I suppose through out our lives we have to take a deep breath every once and awhile and do something that makes us really nervous. Something where our peers or the general public can scrutinize us, like giving a speech or taking a test. I got to thinking about a time when I was on my way to a chemistry test and felt doomed to fail...
I remembered back when the space shuttle blew up. I was on my way to take my first chemistry exam in a very large class. I was just dreading it. So nervous because I was not use to taking exams and it was the first time I had chemistry. I was shocked about the shuttle. I thought to myself, man, these people just lost their lives trying to make our world better and I'm worried about a stupid test. Like somebody is going to come and beat the hell out of me for doing bad. Like what, am I going to die if I do badly, no. I had a peace of mind come into me and I prayed for those lost in the shuttle and thanked God for what college was offering me. All I could do is go in with what I knew at that moment and do my best. That was a peace of cake. If I did my best than I would have no regrets on whatever grade I got because it was my best. Maybe not good compared to someone else but maybe a bit better than others, who knows and who really cares. I was so relaxed and focused because I felt no pressure to perform to someone else’s standard.
The test seemed to go all right. Some questions were difficult and I seemed to stumble. I moved on to those that were clear and easy to answer and then came back with the answers for the questions I stumbled on. Making associations and tying things together the best way I could I left the test not knowing how I did but feeling wonderful knowing I did the best I could and that, ultimately is what all things ride on. Just doing our best makes a world of difference. The test scores were posted and out of 150 fellow class mates I had the second highest score. Number one had a perfect score. I was thrilled and learned the lesson of how important it is to be thankful for what faculties you do have and when comes to "measuring up" or being "up against others", the real competition is against yourself.
Disclaimer: I am not grandstanding or bragging. I consider myself to be normal and/or average and couldn’t think of another way to make the point without mentioning the test score.