Four Score and Seven Years Ago...
It was a quiet, rainy Monday at my old school, Washington Episcopal School. It had been a normal day and everyone was waiting around for our first class of the day, US history. However, the whole atmosphere changed when our teacher, Mrs. Durling, walked through the door. She told us about our new project where we had to memorize the first three lines of the Gettysburg Address by Abraham Lincoln. Though this may not sound like a lot, it certainly was for a fifth grader. With the news of the project, everyone’s hands were immediately raised with many questions, myself included.
The once quiet kids were now frantic and anxious. The worst part was that she went on to tell us that we would not just be graded for memorizing, but for accuracy as well. We soon learned that we would also have to recite it in front of the whole class, which made everyone distressed. We were told we had until Friday to learn the first three lines and that everyone would recite it then.
When I got home, I immediately began studying the address, which I found to have the most complex and odd words that I had ever heard. After the first three days of studying, I realized I had already memorized the first part with ease and that it was now just about accuracy. I eventually had it mastered to the point where I could recite it in my sleep.
When Friday arrived, which to me felt like it came at the blink of an eye, I had already recited it to myself more than a hundred times. For this reason, I was more confident than I had ever been for any other school assignment, so I volunteered to go second. Unlike every other presentation I had ever made, I was calm and confident without the slightest bit of nervousness and I ended up reciting it perfectly. While listening to everyone else struggle to repeat his or her Gettysburg Address, I realized how glad I was to be done with it. That’s when Mrs. Durling dropped a bomb on us. After congratulating everyone for doing a good job, she told us there would be five points of extra credit and recess for anyone who could memorize and recite the entire Gettysburg Address in front of the class.
Normally, I was not the type of person to care about extra credit, but somehow, I felt differently about it this time. After how well I did with the first part, I decided a couple more lines by the following Friday was not too much for me to handle. What followed was the longest and hardest week of my life. On top of my normal homework, I had to memorize the most convoluted words I had ever seen. I would recite the speech in the car on my way home from school, during breakfast and dinner and then before I went to sleep. I was memorizing a new line everyday and reciting the lines I had learned the day before. Eventually I had memorized all of it except for the last line; however, it was Thursday, the night before I would have to present. I had to cram one extra line in the night before, which really seemed to affect my confidence level. That day I had gone to school after a long and slow week of memorizing and began to ask my classmates who was going for the extra credit as well. Only two other people were planning on doing it, which relieved me just a little at the thought of not needing to go first.
When it was finally Friday, the day I had to present, I was more nervous then I had ever been. I knew the material, but I was uneasy at the thought of messing up. After eating breakfast, I got into the car and drove to school. I got to my class and started talking to my friends until Mrs. Durling entered the room and class started. I soon found out that both of my friends that said they were going for the extra credit decided against it at the last minute. In other words, I was the only person presenting and I was sweating bullets.
Before I began reciting the entire Gettysburg Address to my class, I practiced one last time, which was more like calming my nerves then it was practicing. Finally, it came time for me to recite. As soon as Mrs. Durling told me to begin, the entire class fell silent. I took a deep breath to calm myself and began with, “Four score and seven years ago…” At first, I was extremely nervous but the more I recited, the more confidence I felt, until I had become so sure of myself that every line came out smoothly, just like how I did while practicing. Taking pauses in between paragraphs, I could see the amazement in my friend’s eyes, since I had never done anything like this before. After I had finally finished, my class immediately congratulated me with loud clapping and cheering but most of all I was proud of myself for how hard I worked to do something no one else did. Although I did get the extra points and recess, the best part of the project was showing myself that I could actually do it.
Since that day I promised myself that I would never forget the Gettysburg Address and be able to recite it 20 years later. Regrettably, six months later, I had completely forgotten all but “Four score and seven years ago.”
The once quiet kids were now frantic and anxious. The worst part was that she went on to tell us that we would not just be graded for memorizing, but for accuracy as well. We soon learned that we would also have to recite it in front of the whole class, which made everyone distressed. We were told we had until Friday to learn the first three lines and that everyone would recite it then.
When I got home, I immediately began studying the address, which I found to have the most complex and odd words that I had ever heard. After the first three days of studying, I realized I had already memorized the first part with ease and that it was now just about accuracy. I eventually had it mastered to the point where I could recite it in my sleep.
When Friday arrived, which to me felt like it came at the blink of an eye, I had already recited it to myself more than a hundred times. For this reason, I was more confident than I had ever been for any other school assignment, so I volunteered to go second. Unlike every other presentation I had ever made, I was calm and confident without the slightest bit of nervousness and I ended up reciting it perfectly. While listening to everyone else struggle to repeat his or her Gettysburg Address, I realized how glad I was to be done with it. That’s when Mrs. Durling dropped a bomb on us. After congratulating everyone for doing a good job, she told us there would be five points of extra credit and recess for anyone who could memorize and recite the entire Gettysburg Address in front of the class.
Normally, I was not the type of person to care about extra credit, but somehow, I felt differently about it this time. After how well I did with the first part, I decided a couple more lines by the following Friday was not too much for me to handle. What followed was the longest and hardest week of my life. On top of my normal homework, I had to memorize the most convoluted words I had ever seen. I would recite the speech in the car on my way home from school, during breakfast and dinner and then before I went to sleep. I was memorizing a new line everyday and reciting the lines I had learned the day before. Eventually I had memorized all of it except for the last line; however, it was Thursday, the night before I would have to present. I had to cram one extra line in the night before, which really seemed to affect my confidence level. That day I had gone to school after a long and slow week of memorizing and began to ask my classmates who was going for the extra credit as well. Only two other people were planning on doing it, which relieved me just a little at the thought of not needing to go first.
When it was finally Friday, the day I had to present, I was more nervous then I had ever been. I knew the material, but I was uneasy at the thought of messing up. After eating breakfast, I got into the car and drove to school. I got to my class and started talking to my friends until Mrs. Durling entered the room and class started. I soon found out that both of my friends that said they were going for the extra credit decided against it at the last minute. In other words, I was the only person presenting and I was sweating bullets.
Before I began reciting the entire Gettysburg Address to my class, I practiced one last time, which was more like calming my nerves then it was practicing. Finally, it came time for me to recite. As soon as Mrs. Durling told me to begin, the entire class fell silent. I took a deep breath to calm myself and began with, “Four score and seven years ago…” At first, I was extremely nervous but the more I recited, the more confidence I felt, until I had become so sure of myself that every line came out smoothly, just like how I did while practicing. Taking pauses in between paragraphs, I could see the amazement in my friend’s eyes, since I had never done anything like this before. After I had finally finished, my class immediately congratulated me with loud clapping and cheering but most of all I was proud of myself for how hard I worked to do something no one else did. Although I did get the extra points and recess, the best part of the project was showing myself that I could actually do it.
Since that day I promised myself that I would never forget the Gettysburg Address and be able to recite it 20 years later. Regrettably, six months later, I had completely forgotten all but “Four score and seven years ago.”