The blink of an eye
She was delighted to find the sealed envelope lying on her table. As she reached for it, she could feel her heart beating out of her chest. Her stomach tossed and turned like an argosy caught in the uproar of the gale, her mind was aware of her body. She could feel her pupils dilating, her fingers shaking, the sudden flush of blood making her ears warm. It is funny how one single thought can turn delight into anxiety in the blink of an eye.
It was mid-July, and Sarah had just turned in her admission form for studying in Cambridge as an undergraduate. She had done everything right from grade 8 and now it was time for the final show before she considered her life to be set. Sarah had to be in an interview with the admissions officer to give them a reason to admit her into Cambridge. All the years of hard work finally came down to this very moment, she could almost taste her victory. Although such interviews have a reputation of being nerve-racking, Sarah was calm and confident. She did so well that she impressed the admissions officer. She was almost certain there was an acceptance letter from Cambridge with her name in it.
Filled with glee, she went home and told her friends all about it. At that moment, one of her friends mentioned how some of the admissions officers look happy and impressed irrespective of how well you do in the interview 一 in order to calm and de-stress the interviewee. Sarah, being the perfectionist that she was, found this very unsettling. A panic alarm set off in her mind convincing her that she butchered her interview, even though she didn’t. Like a quantum branch, her mind played out a hundred different scenarios wondering what could have gone wrong in the interview, now that the emotions of the interviewer aren’t concrete evidence to reflect her performance. After having a full-blown panic attack, she decides to calm herself down by reading a book. The book talked about different changemakers, covering concepts of success and failure in a powerful and succinct manner. Sarah ended up reading the entire night and finally went to bed with one quote in mind. “We learn wisdom from failure, much more than we do from success”. And dreading failure her entire life, she started reevaluating every decision she ever made. She found it interesting to observe how a few well-written words could have such a big impact on her life. Sarah now stopped worrying about the interview and was just happy about her performance.
As she reached out for the envelope this whole experience flashed through her inward eye. Sarah stepped away from the table, took a deep breath, opened the letter, and smiled.
