Follow-up: Test Worries (or the Lack Thereof)

I rocked it. I wasn't perfect, but I did my best and I felt like my abilities were at their peak, thanks to divine help. Family and friends prayed for me, which is touching to know in its own right, and it helps, too, that I know I'm where God wants me to be in my life. (Aside: If it were up to me, I'd hurry up and change a few things, but there's a reason why the Man Upstairs is in charge.)

So how did I do?

• OPI: Advanced-mid That is to say, my speaking ability in Spanish is advanced--not the Superior or Advanced-high I was hoping for, but it's still an improvement over last time. I think what prevented me from reaching higher levels was a lack of organized arguments in a discussion/presentation of ideas, but that's not exactly how I speak even in English. I'm better with writing when it comes to that. At any rate, I surpassed the Advanced-low state requirement.
• PRAXIS: Passed! On a scale of 100-200, I got 189, and Utah only requires 168 to be able to teach. Again, my presentational speaking was weaker, but I aced the written portion.

Okay, despite all my seeming confidence and apparent nonchalant attitude conveyed in my last post, I did get nervous, just not as nervous as I would have been without having prepared a decade for this. I learned from my scores that I'm not perfect, but I would've been lying to myself to say otherwise. Like I tell my students and am trying to put to words, perfection isn't everything. My students won't learn how to conjugate all verbs overnight, but they can master a few -ar, -ir, -er verbs for now. However, mastery≠perfection.

Hear me out! I say "mastery" and "perfection" are not necessarily synonymous with one another for a reason. See, "mastery" could mean over a concept, a small portion of a greater whole. Now, "perfection" means "wholeness, completeness." I teach, hoping that my students will master present tense verbs in Spanish, but by no means should I expect them to speak perfect Spanish by the end of the unit, or even the end of the year. 

Moral of the story: The same mastery≠perfection concept applies to you and me; we're here to learn and grow, and our trials, our joys, and even the mundane everyday moments of our lives help us to master skills we acquire, whether by necessity or choice. For example, I've mastered Spanish well enough that the state will allow me to continue teaching. I see that I still have room for improvement, but I was blessed to do well enough and I'm sure God will continue to help me improve. By the end of my life and yours, odds are we'll be pros in many ways, having mastered a number of skills, but we won't be perfect human beings. That's what eternity's for. That's what the atonement is for. Christ makes up the difference, as long as we do our best and let Him help us along.

We don't have to be perfect. What matters most is our willingness to try, to do our best. :)

Here's to 2015! Let's make it one of mastery moments. 

God bless you, my friends.

“Isn't it nice to think that tomorrow is a new day with no mistakes in it yet?” ~L. M. Mongomery, Anne of Green Gables