Is Optimism Forced?

Recently, the results for the Chinese National College Entrance exams (GaoKao) have been released. Students who achieve a score above 650-660 are considered well (with the full marks being 750). If your score is below 600 or even below the score that will get you into a college, it is considered not as ideal. As the scores are being released across the country, there has been a lot of reaction videos to the results, such as people screaming and cheering when they get scores like 688, or some crying and going silent when they see that their score is in the 500s or 400s. There was one video where the girl got a score of 288, and instead of the expected scolding or cries of the family, the mother of the family cheered and the family was happy about the result. The mother said that that was because when the girl did the mock GaoKao exams, her scores were usually about 200, so getting a score of 288 meant to them that she had made significant progress in her high school studies. There was then this footage of the mother comforting the daughter saying that even though the result may not seem ideal to some people, the mother is still grateful that she has a healthy and happy daughter regardless, thus, that is why the mother is still satisfied with the result. 

Some people say that is forced optimism, saying that someone cannot even go to college with a score like that, thus, the family should not be ecstatic of the result. However, others praise the mother being open-minded and optimistic despite external factors. To me, I believe that the mother did the right thing—she cheered for progress, not the result. You cannot compare someone who is a top student for most of their life, has a talent for math and physics, and stays up all night to study, to someone who does not have any talent for studying, does not have a good foundation in their studies, and does not have the time and energy to stay up all night to learn. Their results will naturally be different. You cannot blame the child for not working as hard as their peers—there are always people who are more talented and more hard-working than you are. Comparison of different people from different backgrounds and environments is the most toxic, ineffective, and unnecessary thing to do. We are all different, and our differences is what makes the world the way it is—diverse, harmonious, and simply beautiful. Thus, why not embrace our differences, and pursue a life that emphasizes progress over result? Because at the end of the day, our achievements in life are only small moments that shine, but how we got there—everything that we did to get there, is what enlightens up the path.