This familiar moral certainly does not apply to everyone or every situation, but there is some validity about it that I can identify with. I often view myself as the tortoise from Aesop’s fable, The Tortoise and the Hare. Once you get past the enormous bony shell and its ability to contract its neck, arms, and feet for protection, I consider myself analogous to this character. I trust my own judgment that I don’t quite have any distinct physical resemblance to this interesting creature. Without any doubt, the tortoise’s steady perseverance is noteworthy.
I have rarely been the sprinter in my life endeavors, outpacing those around me by multiple strides. In fact, it has been nearly the opposite. This isn’t to say that I have never been ahead of the curve — I have. There have been plenty of victories, first-place wins, accolades, acceptances, and the like. I look back at each of those moments and my first thought is that I worked hard. I was naturally adept at some of those endeavors, but for the most part, I sweated, toiled, tripped, and fell through the processes. It is hard for me to relate to those who view their accomplishments as a brisk stroll through the park in which some level of effort was involved, but not their full potential (because it wasn’t necessary). I come to a complete awkward silence, really. It is admirable, nonetheless. I am just not the same.
In many ways I have been a slave to my own aspirations for my entire life, chasing dreams and challenges with no one pushing me to do so except for myself. I grew up in a fairly supportive environment where “just do your best” was a common theme and if I still failed, I’d still be accepted. I could have been a complete failure and still be loved — what a concept! I think I have gone through life to ensure that that would never happen, because of it did, I would be disgusted with myself. Occasionally I would get snippets of side commentary from those around me to either encourage or cast doubts on my actions. Those, of course, may have steered my direction backward or forward, or not at all. I have typically set my own goals since I understood what goals were to begin with.
Does it matter that I will likely have to spend 200 hours on test preparation when the average person spends 100 hours? Does it matter that I took a windy and pothole-filled road to get to where I am today?
Step by step, I will make it to the finish line…or better yet, to each milestone at hand, since a finish line is a bit too finite. Each step will have its own significance, at least in my book. The journey should not be overlooked or forgotten.
One of the two characters of my Chinese name means perseverance. The other character means infinite, or the universe. When combined, it comes out to be infinite perseverance. I guess it was meant to be.
[outside my project apartment at 7:00AM today]
