Passing with Flying Colors.

In your life, have you ever struggled with something and assumed that it wasn't going to turn out the way you wanted it to? Well, this is how I felt while I was in an Exploratory shop at my school this past week. I never thought making a metal lighthouse would be so precise and so difficult. Especially one as small as the ones we were making. Granted, Machine Tech was definitely a lot more fun than I thought it was going to be, especially since I had good company to push me along. However, it wasn't exactly rainbows and butterflies either. When I made a simple but silly mistake while making a roof to my lighthouse today, I thought I'd blown my chances of getting an A in the shop. But when I was called up for my grade, it really wasn't the case.

At North Shore Tech, Freshmen have to go through an Exploratory program to check out all the shops. This week, I had to go through Machine Tech. I dreaded it, at least until I found out that two of my good friends were going to be with me. Our project was to make a lighthouse out of metal and when we were finished, it would light up. Seemed pretty simple at the time. That is, until we started using the machines, when we all noticed that it wasn't all it was cracked up to be. Especially today, the last day, when I was making the roof to the lighthouse and I bumped the edge and scarred it. A simple, but pretty serious mistake that's hard to fix. Luckily for me, it was able to be fixed but I was convinced that it brought down my grade because I had difficulties using the machine. We had two and a half hours to just hang around and talk and Mr. Surrette [the shop teacher] said he'd call us up for our grades. I was surprised when he called me up first.

As I walked up the stairs, almost dreading to hear what I got, Mr. Surrette told me to sit down. I found it strange but I did as I was told. He looks me square in the eye, points at my lighthouse and says "What do you think?" I was a little surprised, but I answered, "I think it looks good," hoping that was the answer he was looking for. "Just good? I think it's fantastic!" he says to me and I smile. He begins to go down the list of expectations and he said that every single expectation was met "spectacularly" and I smiled again. I started fiddling in my seat. Mr. Surrette tells me I got an A and by now, I'm beaming from ear-to-ear. When I get up to leave, he tells me to sit back down. In the beginning of the week, I had told him that I wanted to take Commercial Arts. He remembered this and he looked me in the eyes again and says to me "What if you don't take Commercial Arts?" and when I went to answer this, I realized I really had no idea what my other two choices were. That was when he told me something that I'm sure made me blush. He says to me, "Even if you don't choose Commercial Arts, anything you do choose, you will excel in. You're talented, artistic, creative, and a quick learner. I'm starting to wonder if you even belong here." And I just kept quiet. I kind of let out a shy laugh because I could tell he wasn't finished. He began to tell me about all the different things I'd do well in and I just sat back and listened. When he finally gave me the go to leave, I gave a polite nod and said "Thank you" and walked down the stairs, feeling lighter than I've felt in a very long time.

So anybody who says that they can't complete something or they don't understand something, don't be afraid to mess up or ask for help. Don't be afraid to step in and try your hardest. That's what I did. I never shyed away from a "big scary" machine because I remembered what my other teachers had told me. "Treat every shop as though it's your first choice" because what if I do choose to go into Machine Tech and I didn't do well in the Exploratory? I'd be out of luck and I wouldn't be able to re-explore. So learn from your mistakes because they may pay off. Also, every small step leads to a life-long journey.