Catching a Dog

Last Christmas I decided to use my school holiday to prepare for the SAT college entrance test in January. My goal was to score 2200 on the test (the maximum is 2400). I believed I could do it even though I am not a native speaker, and my English language and writing skills are weak when compared to my math skills. I had wonderful grades in school. I bought a book which contained a list of 3500 SAT vocabulary words, and grammar practice exercises I could do to improve my English skills. I didn’t think I could digest all those words and grammar skills in just the few weeks I had before the SAT but I still kept on doing all the practice tests the book provided. Vocabulary and grammar were my headaches. I doubted whether I could reach my goal. I took a little bit of solace by telling myself “other people can do it, why can’t I?” And then it was the time for the SAT test. 2 weeks later, right on the day of my birthday, the test score came out. I only got 1860-Math 800, Critical Reading 540, Writing 520. I had wished, worked and prayed for a great score. In the end, I was still 340 points away from my goal. What about all the effort I’d made? What about all the time I’d spent on preparing for the test? I could have used that time to listen to the music I like, play some sports and hang out with my best friends. There are still several chances to retake the test.
Should I take it again or just give up?

My SAT experience reminds me of something that happened last year when I was an exchange student living with a host family in Dryden, New York. Dryden is located in the country side, with hills and woods all around. During the time of my stay, we adopted a dog named Keera from the local animal shelter. Keera was a mix of shepherd and husky. She was energetic like a husky, and self-confident like a shepherd. We always put a leash on her just in case she might run away. One snowy day, when I was walking the dog, Keera broke the leash and ran into the woods. Being a jock, I felt sheepish that Keera had gotten away on me. I laughed at her and yelled, “So you want a race yeah?” I swore that I could catch her in a few minutes I chased after her. The chilly wind scratched my face like knives and snowflakes landed on my jacket. 5 minutes later when I still hadn’t caught her, I started to get tired. Now Keera was mocking me. She would deliberately stop and wait for me to catch up, and then take a little sprint, and wait for me again in a distance. One time, I caught her, but she slipped away from my hug and ran even further. I had little hope of catching her.
I thought I was going to lose her. I knew that I could not catch her by simply running after her. I slowed my pace and started to think about what other approach I might try. I whistled, pretended I had food, and even danced like a fool just to get her attention, to lure her closer to me. Finally, I pretended I was dead. I first yelled to get her attention, and then lay down on the cold snowy ground. I knew shepherds have a sense of loyalty to their owners, and huskies have a strong curiosity. So I bet that if I pretended to be dead Keera would come to me to find out was happening. It worked! Just when she was inches away and sniffing me, I jumped towards her, gave her a big hug and put the leash on her collar. I’d done it!

In our lives, reaching our goals can be like catching a run-away dog. We see the dog escape and we start to chase after it. We spend energy and time, but are never able to catch it. Often times, we set a goal in our lives, and without much prior thinking and planning, we work towards our goal. We end up not getting what we want, and that can make us start to lose hope. We’ve worked persistently and we’ve been focused, and diligent. So what’s the problem? Perhaps a lack of planning and analyzing and in being too much of a rush to reach our goal is the key cause of our failure, despite how hard we’ve worked. When you feel you aren’t getting anywhere, slow down, and think things through. There are a lot of different approaches to achieving your goal. You may need to try a different one. Remember when one door closes, often another one opens.

I’ve decided to take another SAT test in June. This time, I will try different kinds of approaches to prepare for the SAT. I hope next time I will get a better score maybe even the one I’m hoping for.