The every elusive top grade

We have all been though the experience of waiting in tense anticipation for our master peace to be handed back to us with the praise of the teacher. There would be a set of numbers written on the chalk board declaring where the grade for the assignment and how they fit in to the standard grading system. Then the moment has arrived with mounting excitement the teacher hands your master peace back to you. Upon glancing at the numbers written in red ink all the excitement vanishes like popping a balloon. You realize that your master peace was not as great as you had hoped it would be.

You see I never thought that this day would ever come where one of my assignments is marked as the top grade achieved out of the class. In my past educational history I have never had the honor of having the top score on any work that I have done. Most of my work would range some where in the middle close to the top but never quite the best. During my grade school years my efforts were fruitless I felt like a trout jumping up a water fall and not quite making it to the top to continue up the river. No matter how hard I tried it just was not enough to get to the top of the water fall I always fell short like the trout. Never being able to gain the top spot was a pattern that continued to plague me all through my high school years, even into collage. Even though I had always done my best I was now becoming so accustom to falling short that I believed it was always going to happen.

With my first English assignment being handed back today I did not want to get my hopes up just to get them dashed. With my previous experiences as undeniable proof I believed that there would be no change. My desired achievement would ever remain elusive like a deer evading the hunter. Then Monday the 4th of February rolled around like in the past, posted on the board was the range of points that would define what grade I achieved. So expecting another average grade my paper was handed back to me, without looking at the score on it I quickly shoved it into my binder as to conceal it form other students. Hopping that my professor would not go over and explain how her grading worked, so I could delay looking at my master peace ripped to peaces. I began taking out my note book and got ready to start taking notes on her lecture. However, my professor started into an explanation on her grading system and how the grades ranged. With dread creeping on me I pulled out my paper to asses the damage this time to my self-esteem.

Stunned at what my eyes were telling me thoughts like, This can’t be what I think I’m seeing and Could it possibly be true? When I heard my professors declare that the top grad received by a student was exactly the same number that I was looking at on my paper. Instantly my heart began to swell with pride as a renewed hope began to blossom replacing gloom and discouragement. Then sever thought rushed around my mind like, Mine is the best score there is none better than mine and finely! With this swelling realization I just wanted to jump up and yell “I did it!” But the lecture was starting and my moment was over after so many years and it was over just like that. It just didn’t seem fare that no one was congratulating me and partying, and where were the balloons and confetti?