Not So Fast There

Never mind the fact that my athleticism isn't as perfect as the next person in the room. I can barely run a mile in under eleven minutes. What makes my PE teacher think I can do it in under ten?! And making it part of my grade was even worse than knowing that I have to run it because more pressure was put on my shoulders. So I asked him, "what makes you think I can run a mile in under ten minutes when I barely can do it at eleven?" I pretty much asked him in a panicked manner because with worry like this, who wouldn't? 

My anxiety at the moment were probably  three times higher than my IQ.  But with my teachers wise words of wisdom, "Don't worry about it. You can do it. Just try your best." Which made me panic even more. I mean, I bet he said that to all of his students. It was my grade on the line here. And coming from a typical Asian family, they expect me to not get any lower than a B. 

So get this. Your grades+Overbearing parents=Stress you can't even imagine. They're so caught up with me having the best grades that sometimes I think that sometimes they forget that I'm their child and just their one way ticket to achieving their hopes and dreams instead of mines. 

So as I was standing waiting for the whistle to blow to signal us to start running, I had nothing to think about. So I thought about my teachers words, to not worry and do my best. Because doing my best and putting in the best of my abilities to achieve something is the best person I could possibly be. And that's when it clicked. It's not just some words that assure his students to do great, but it's the actual meaning behind them. I was thinking too much of what others expected me to do that I didn't really think about myself. So I did what I was suppose to do. I finally thought of myself and did the best I could and ran that mile.......And finished it in 10 minutes and 43 seconds.

Although I didn't necessarily finish it within the time restraints, I felt pretty awesome. I even remember what it felt like to run. The wind through my hair, cooling me down from the scorching sun above, and the  people running past me when I took short walks. But it's okay, I wasn't doing the run for them, I was doing it for me and how it was going to benefit me in the future.