Perfection is something that I have been taught since I was young. I grew up being taught to do something all the way, and you do it your best, or don’t do it at all. When it came to school, I was taught that anything less than an A or a 90% wasn’t good. I let this mindset control everything that I did until I got to college. When I got to college, I quickly learned the hard way that perfection does not exist.
According to dictionary.com, the definition of perfection is “the state or quality of being or becoming perfect.” However, when you look up the definition of perfect, it’s “entirely without any flaws, defects, or shortcomings.”
How can that be true when there are flaws in everything? Not in a negative way either, but nothing is perfect. Everything has a flaw, which is not a bad thing, because a flaw is what makes something unique.
Coming to college, I made one of my goals during my first semester to get a 3.0 GPA or higher. That did not happen. Adjusting to college-level work took me a few months, and during my first semester, the highest grade I got on an assignment was a mid-80. That’s not bad either! However, I grew up with norms that if I didn’t have 90s or above in my classes, then it wasn’t good enough, and I didn’t try hard enough.
During my sophomore year, I have been learning to unlearn “perfection” and learn “progress over perfection” instead. I am only in college, and I am still learning every day. Not only am I learning from my classes, but I am learning how to be an adult, live on my own, and I am learning to become my own person.
This year, I am working on learning progress over perfection. I am still learning, and I still have a lot to learn. I am far from perfect, and I will never be perfect. I used to believe that I had to be perfect, and if I wasn’t perfect, then I wouldn’t be trying hard enough.
Now, I am learning that progress is so much more important than perfection. It means that you’re learning, you’re trying, and you’re not giving up. It is a concept that I am still learning every day, but I’m trying my best, and at the end of the day, that’s all that matters.