Take it easy!
After getting home from Thursday’s track meet and grabbing a bite to eat at Burger King, my dad and I arrived back at our modest abode, and I set out to devour my calorie-rich meal. Before I could do so, my dad started making an odd motion.
First he pointed to me, then to the computer. He then repeated said motion for about 10 or 15 seconds, then gave me a disapproving look. Apparently, I wasn’t getting the message.
Finally, he said, “Are you going to check?”
“Check …,” I said as I vainly searched my mind for what in God’s name he was talking about.
“Your scores?”
Oh. Those scores. I finally understood.
On Thursday the scores for the March SAT were put online at the College Board Web site. As I sat down at the computer, I started getting nervous. When my profile page popped up at the College Board, my stomach was clenched and prepared for the worst.
Over the weeks after the test, I had been secretly freaking out about how I had done. Always having been slightly vain, doing badly would look very bad.
As my scores were shown, I did the mental math. It took a surprisingly long amount of time to do, especially considering what the page said my math score was.
After about a minute or so, I exclaimed the score I had tallied up.
“That’s so tight!” I yelled.
And like that, I had another example of times I had worried and worried about something that turned out fine.
So here’s the moral of my brief story: Calm down. Things aren’t always as bad as you make them, and before you know it your entire situation can change.
— Carl Zielinski