Good Numbers

As climbers, we're pretty good (or bad?) at measuring our progress, success, etc. with numbers - whether you're working your way up towards 5.15 or battling through the V grades, like it or not, numbers at least claim to give us a feeling of how we are doing. How much stock we put in these numbers and how much we let them control us is a whole other issue.

Today, I took part in an entirely different, number-related measurement of my awesomeness, or lack thereof - the GRE, the required, slightly beefed up version of the SAT that you have to take to apply to grad schools. After a couple days of practicing and stressing (and trying to get some finals done as well), it was finally time for the test.

I definitely think my studying paid off. Although I only got 680 on the verbal section (honestly, my vocabulary is great compared to everyone I know at Caltech, but they just have to include words like jejune and saturnine that just aren't in my everyday lexicon - I studied these, although neither were on the test), I think I did well on my essays and I got an 800 on the math section!!! WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!! I have proven that I am competent at tricky high-school level math!

So although I question how much this really will tell anyone about how qualified I actually am for grad school, it should at least tell them that I haven't gotten too much dumber (in fact, perhaps even better at math) since high school, which has got to be a good thing.

That's all for now,

Lizzy