Today I’m a very happy girl. I found out that I’ve placed first in the district in a math contest I took part in in May! It feels pretty good, even if it seems to me I did more guessing than answering.
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The clock is ticking
Each click measures a space of time
The wheels in my head are frantically clicking
A pattern of numbers and shapes fly around inside
I have time and space
But still my mind’s rushing
This is a fault I can’t erase
I’m stressed and fretting too much
I can’t catch every mistake I make
I think it’s literally impossible
But I need to try before I can break
I certainly can’t give up now
I’ve used two sides of blank white paper
Covered with pictures to help me think
It’s a drawing board, a thought shaper
It leads me to difficult answers
I labor on, the end closer than before
Steadfast though my mind is weary
I can see the distant, but closing shore
Not easily judged, but there still
My pencil’s set upon the sheet
A letter displays my unrestrained intellect
Answer after answer my lead eats
Though at a drudging, stuttering speed
Have I the courage to hand in my work?
To understand if I don’t succeed?
Or will it drive me completely berserk
To sit aside, unrecognized?
But of course I’ll finish this
I’m nearly done, so very close
I’ll set down my pencil, be dismissed
Go back to life and irritably wait
If my name is ever proudly called
As the best of the best, to be admired
I wonder what will be recalled
Will the discomfort be more fondly remembered?