Challenge 5: Turning-point Conversation

22. Tell us about one of the best conversations you’ve had. (Stanford/93)

There was once a time I used to think of myself as a mature girl rare to find in present generation. But this thought was void by my mom during one of our conversations about an incident I experienced in school.

I was only 12 years old then. Studying in a small school, in a class of 30 students, I was known to be the “smart one.” I was always confident that I would get the best-academic- student-prize of 6^th grade though there was another girl, my rival, who was also considered to be a smart one. I recall that I was so confident because the girl was away from school for two months, missing all the classes and exams, due to her contaminating illness. With my hopes high, I attended prize distribution ceremony. I was excited with the thought that I would be receiving a prize in front of those hundreds of people. But when the other girl’s name was called out for the prize, my heart sank. I came back home immediately after the ceremony and cried. The fact that she got the prize without even writing exams hurt me; it was unfair.

As I was explaining and expressing my anguish feelings to Mom, she gently patted my head and softly talked to me. She said that our Almighty God had created each one of us so unique and that’s how I am beautiful just the way I am. Then she kindly added that society won’t be how I always expect it to be because it is full of different people. I argued that it was unfair of the school and that my mom should go and complain. My mom looked at me straight into my eyes and asked only one more question: are you 100% positive that you studied well enough that you had to be the first ranker in whichever way people judged? I couldn’t say answer immediately because I knew how much I worked. My goal was plainly to be better than others; it never was to excel myself.

The conversation was just about five minutes. And that much was the time I took to learn and realize my shameless complains on other people ignoring me when I was ignoring the whole system of school community. In order to be respected by everyone, I have to learn to be what I want to be in whichever angle people looked on me. And that’s how I learnt to try my very best.