There I am sitting on the edge of my seat in Calculus class, awaiting the wonderful and intriguing lessons the teacher was about to embark on. She turned on the projection and there it was on the board in big bold letters, the perfect analogy for almost anything: Asymptotes. An asymptote is a theoretical line that a function can closely approach, but never touch. Kind of like a guy who has been friend-zoned that is so close to his dream girl. Or trying to find perfect change for something last minute. Or trying to arrive at a meeting EXACTLY when it starts. If it’s impossible, it’s probably an asymptote. An asymptote that is number one in our “reach” list is perfection. Given the opportunity, sure, who wouldn’t decide to be perfect?
Perfection is out-doing any bests there is out there. It comes down to many things. Some, would love to be physically perfect: healthy, good teeth, good hair, great complexion, natural beauty, nice smile, nice smell. etc. One also values intellectual perfection: getting 100%s on every single test, A+s in every class, knowing every single little fact in the world. I know it’s an unattainble thing, but my mind has seemed to let that slip lately.
I’m not a size 2, 6’7″, long-legged, runway model whose majestic manes enchants everyone that sets their eyes on it. I’m me, and that ain’t perfect by any means & I love that. Although it has recently become apparent to me that I HAVE been reaching for perfection. Not physical, but MENTAL. I hope that through my pieces my ambition is pretty clear. Oh, it’s no big deal… I just want to change the world. You know, easy stuff, stuff you do before breakfast. I want to give people the tools they want if they decide that they should want to open themselves to different ideas. I may have abused my own tools. I am a lot about constantly improving yourself, always ask, “What can I do to make myself better?” I took some time to work on myself; trying to become the ultimate version of me. I worked day in and day out and am still not satisfied. I attempted the impossible. I tried to be perfectly altruistic in a world that needs a little self-interest. I worked at focusing on things that truly mattered, giving time and energy to those who need it, educating myself everyday, being better than the person I was the day before. However about that lesson my Calculus teacher taught me, I was approaching an asymptote. I was reaching for something that could never be reached.
Is there anything wrong with that? Absolutely not, but when you become dependent on reaching that end result it should become a concern. There is a reason why perfection does not exist. It gives us the room to always be bettering ourselves, constantly improving, marginally closing that gap between us and perfection little by little. If perfection existed we would settle, and that must not happen. We should be taking advantage of every single opportunity we get to grow as a person. Life is all about the internal voyage.
I am not perfect and I never will be, but I will never stop trying. In more mathematically correct terms, the quality of my sense of self will exponentially increase as time progresses. To give up, to settle; that would mean that I have reached all I can. One can never know if they have reached all they can unless they continue to try. Which is why the limit towards this asymptote is infinity, the possibilities are endless. I may not be perfect, but as log as I keep trying, that’s perfectly fine with me.
Change Starts in the Heart 