I felt as if sitting on a bed of nails in the examination room of International Mathematics Olympiad in Beijing. Even though I seemed to deal with the each question serenely, I did scream inside.
Born in a scholarly family, I was always regarded as an authority by my among my peers. Since I was a young child, I have travelled to and stayed in many different countries because both of my parents work in International Business Department in FORTUNE GLOBAL 500. Of academics, I don't recall much except I was often asked or chosen to give the class a presentation when teachers launched in to a discussion based on personal anecdotes. Possibly, I am a guy who always have something to share. From 2005, my interest in Math grows extremely when I moved back to China and lived with my aunt who is a mathematical genius and partner of a famous accounting firm. Math, so to speak, offers me a unique and exciting insight of the world than any of the subjects at school.
It was not that difficult to be selected on behalf of our school to enter the city math competition and what I expect is more than that - the National Mathematics Olympiad. To be frank, I prepare nothing for the city math competition and I firmly believed that my solid foundation and intelligence quotient outweigh the ongoing preparation and careful investigation. As a result, I ranked 20 among 500. "Not too bad but there is room for improvement", this understatement of the mentor did not upset me even a little bit and, instead, I was more inclined to attribute this to one or two careless error. Most importantly, I prepare nothing but still got a chance. Ironically, I was left alone with this "pride" swelling in my chest so big and tight.
I just sat with my hope and longing, dreaming of a bigger gift during the finals in Beijing. What made me relieved was the time arrangement of the finals - right after the finals at school in January. I deemed that no one can prepare so meticulously about this test as to run the risk of ruining their GPA at school. At this point, the result should only be related to "real capability" of contestants.
My confidence were still there when I got the test paper because there were all familiar mathematical notation after I gave it a quick glance. However, When going through with each question, I kind of lacked a "little stone" to save my frail edifice of knowledge. Every knowledge point jumped up at me, stayed in my mind with veil and vanished quickly as soon as possible. Nothing was heard but others' scratching of pens on paper. What's my excuse this time? Other participants were perfect type of pedant who had already done extensive practice? Or all the questions this time were precisely what I wasn't adept at?
Even though my "painstaking efforts" ended up being fruitless, I do have a pragmatic understanding of the necessity of "well-prepared". During recent three years, with this truth in mind, I have to, tend to but then would like to lay out my own schedule and plan every time before a test, activity, or event.
Born in a scholarly family, I was always regarded as an authority by my among my peers. Since I was a young child, I have travelled to and stayed in many different countries because both of my parents work in International Business Department in FORTUNE GLOBAL 500. Of academics, I don't recall much except I was often asked or chosen to give the class a presentation when teachers launched in to a discussion based on personal anecdotes. Possibly, I am a guy who always have something to share. From 2005, my interest in Math grows extremely when I moved back to China and lived with my aunt who is a mathematical genius and partner of a famous accounting firm. Math, so to speak, offers me a unique and exciting insight of the world than any of the subjects at school.
It was not that difficult to be selected on behalf of our school to enter the city math competition and what I expect is more than that - the National Mathematics Olympiad. To be frank, I prepare nothing for the city math competition and I firmly believed that my solid foundation and intelligence quotient outweigh the ongoing preparation and careful investigation. As a result, I ranked 20 among 500. "Not too bad but there is room for improvement", this understatement of the mentor did not upset me even a little bit and, instead, I was more inclined to attribute this to one or two careless error. Most importantly, I prepare nothing but still got a chance. Ironically, I was left alone with this "pride" swelling in my chest so big and tight.
I just sat with my hope and longing, dreaming of a bigger gift during the finals in Beijing. What made me relieved was the time arrangement of the finals - right after the finals at school in January. I deemed that no one can prepare so meticulously about this test as to run the risk of ruining their GPA at school. At this point, the result should only be related to "real capability" of contestants.
My confidence were still there when I got the test paper because there were all familiar mathematical notation after I gave it a quick glance. However, When going through with each question, I kind of lacked a "little stone" to save my frail edifice of knowledge. Every knowledge point jumped up at me, stayed in my mind with veil and vanished quickly as soon as possible. Nothing was heard but others' scratching of pens on paper. What's my excuse this time? Other participants were perfect type of pedant who had already done extensive practice? Or all the questions this time were precisely what I wasn't adept at?
Even though my "painstaking efforts" ended up being fruitless, I do have a pragmatic understanding of the necessity of "well-prepared". During recent three years, with this truth in mind, I have to, tend to but then would like to lay out my own schedule and plan every time before a test, activity, or event.