Snowflake

Winter is one of nature’s best and most special seasons. Filled with joy and positivity, it's seemingly perfect on the surface, but even winter is not perfect. A promenade outdoors reveals some of nature's most beautiful creations yet. Trees stripped of their lush colourful leaves, the ground, as hard as a rock from the cold, everything covered in a gentle white blanket; we are in a winter wonderland, Mother Nature’s magnum opus. This scenery gives off a sense of serenity as well as a mysterious yet mystical aspect to it of which one cannot explain. As I look up upon the darkening sky, scattered with grey and white clouds, something minuscule begins falling slowly towards me. It sways side to side as it glides down gracefully into the palm of my hand. Opening up my hands, I was mesmerized by what I saw. It was a singular snowflake, seemingly beautiful and perfect. Upon closer inspection of one of nature’s finest and most intricate works of art, it becomes apparent that no two snowflakes are ever identical, and they never will be. Not even nature can replicate two of its creations perfectly, the snowflakes, so how can we? As human beings, we too lack the capabilities which assist us on our quest to chase perfection. Sometimes no matter how much persistence and determination you have to accomplish something meaningful to you, perfection may not be attainable and we must accept it.

This is a feeling I know a little all too well.

Badminton practice, a physically demanding obstacle in which people must complete in order to be a champion at tournaments. A dream that I once had. It was a hobby as well as an extracurricular of mine, which I used to enjoy, but now I dread. Every week is a new set of challenges for me, as I am perplexed on what the yeti of a coach has planned and what will be in store next practice. What worries me the most, is the coach’s attitude. Will they be jubilant? Will they be enraged? Will I be on their good side? These are questions that I ask myself all too often. Trying to communicate with them and achieving a greater level of training is as hard as driving a car on an icy road, with no control. I feel like I'm stuck in an endless blizzard with no sign of it ending soon. I prepare as much as I can, by studying videos of players and games, learning new techniques to serve as my torch to keep me warm during my expedition in the snowy tundra. Yet no matter how much I prepare for the next encounter with the coach, the dreaded day will eventually come and I must face them head-on.

As the car pulls up towards the main entrance of the building, my heart begins pulsating rapidly, slight chills swirl around my head and my blood feels as cold as ice. It was time for practice. Opening the door, the warm air from the inside blows on my face, and an eerie feeling fills my body. The feelings of dread, regret, and fear loom over my head and grow larger with every step I take. As I glance through the window into the gym area, everything is as dark as a cave, except for the light on a singular court. That is where I will be spending my next hour of hell. I scramble to gather my thoughts and composure before the practice begins. I instantly recognized that my coach was standing there, staring at me, into my soul, the sense of intimidation grew on me. Will the wind blow me upwards, in a position for me to soar in the sky like a snowflake? Or will gravity get the better of me and drop me to the ground like every other. Ready or not, practice starts now.

Practice started quite well. Simple warm-ups and drills to get my blood flowing with ease throughout my body. I felt ecstatic! I felt great! I felt like this training was going to benefit me! But I was wrong. As soon as the harder drills began blizzarding down, my confidence in my skills slowly diminished into a wisp of smoke. My shots began to be more varying in accuracy and quality. Some were great, some were not. I was unable to recreate the successful shots I have previously made, just how a snowflake is unable to recreate itself perfectly. Relentless comments began shooting out of my coach’s mouth for the imperfections in my shot quality. Constant criticism with zero support. Then suddenly, the question came out:

Are you even trying or are you fooling around? Said the coach.

My heart sank. I was dumbfounded. I was shocked. I didn’t know how to respond to this question. Could they not see that I was trying? Was I even trying? Was my best not good enough? It felt like my torch of knowledge and preparation was slowly dying as my expedition through this snowy tundra and blizzard persisted. The blizzard around me was getting denser and larger. I was lost, without a sense of direction of what to do and what to think. With all these thoughts, constant criticism, questioning myself and my skills, my head was thrown for a loop. I couldn’t complete practice at my best with these thoughts orbiting my mind.

The car ride home was silent. My mind was filled with many mixed emotions and thoughts. I sat frozen in place as I gazed out of the window, without the capability of moving. All I could do was reflect on what happened. I was lost in the freezing blizzard. I wasn’t able to be perfect in anything I did, whether that be school or badminton, and I will never be perfect in any way... The thought of that suddenly sparked something in me. The realization came down like a crashing avalanche in my head.

Maybe I don’t need to be perfect.

Despite the seemingly endless blizzard ahead of me, the snow appeared to be falling at a decreased pace, a faint light began to emerge on the other side. A life of acceptance and realization, that like snowflakes, perfection is unattainable. A mindset locked on a constant chase for something unattainable will leave one chasing for eternity. It will result in one's life to remain in a constant state of mediocrity and depression. The key to a fulfilling life is to accept and understand the perfection will not be attainable. Striving for perfection is the optimist mindset to get you far in life, but the incapability of understanding and accepting reality will fail you in life. Everyone makes mistakes and are in no way perfect, but it is how we react and build on them which makes us who we are. We are all unique only because of our imperfections, so we must embrace and accept them.

A life filled with nothing but perfection will only be attainable once nature creates two perfectly identical snowflakes.