Average. Just average. Not out of the ordinary, but common, typical, regular. Could this be me? In a world where there are billions of people striving to be above average, it can be challenging to remember what “average” even means. The dictionary defines the word average as “the result obtained by adding quantities together then dividing the total number of quantities; the mean; an amount, standard or rate regarded as usual or ordinary”. The middle child, between one older and one younger brother, I am the average. When it comes to standardized tests, I can also be categorized as average, just about as good as half of the other students, nothing special, mediocre. But in life, as a person, a human being, a soul… I am not simply a number, neither are you.

Being in a world where there is so much pressure to be great, to be better than others, to stand out on paper, average can feel quite defeating. I would know. I work extremely hard for the grades that I receive. I certainly do not feel “average” when I put in hours of study time and effort before I hand in papers, projects, reports and homework assignments that yield very good grades. However, to sit down for these tests that grade me, both as a student and a “person”, is a totally different story. I walk into class, pencil in hand, prepared for anything that can come my way. Feeling confident, knowing that I have studied more than an ample amount, I understand the material. But as I stare at the numbers, words and phrases on the paper before me, the concepts that I had known for days and weeks prior simply escape me, my throat tightens, the room seems to go dark and I momentarily feel maybe average is all I am. Sound familiar?

I remember feeling crushed after receiving my SAT and ACT scores. I took the tests a few times hoping to beat a score that the College Board deemed as average. I felt I had disappointed my teachers, my parents and most of all, myself. However, in the process of continuing through my high school and college years, getting good grades, learning to drive, and holding down a job, I realized something pertinent along the way. A standardized test cannot and does not make me, as a person, simply average. A reading comprehension assessment and an algebraic problem does not define whom I am or what I can contribute to our society. I am a young woman who has worked hard for what she has achieved in her life. I am a smart, independent, loving and caring person who is willing to strive for and able to achieve excellence. On paper, average comes with a negative connotation, and therefore, I refuse to be confined by those boundaries. Everyone has his or her own stories, triumphs, failures and successes, all of which allow our personalities and who we are to be truly exceptional.

So there is a lesson to be learned here, we are not defined by the word average in more ways than our age compared to our siblings. I am not simply a 3-hour test wrapped into a neat little package, neither are you. You are defined by how you treat your waitress on a late Friday night. We are defined by our choice to be respectful, to be kind, to offer help to our surrounding peers, we are defined by the way we love. I am defined by my unique traits: I am outgoing, lively, witty, and extremely caring about others. I have a great deal to offer, and it is these attributes that make a person much more than average. Extraordinary, in fact.