Virtue(ally) Impossible: AP English Language and Composition classes are striving for perfection through a Benjamin Franklin-inspired project, but perfection isn’t worth it

I’ve always strived to be perfect at everything. 

My life revolves around getting 100% on assignments in school and configuring the perfectly well-rounded resume. I pile on extracurriculars like math club and refuse to go to sleep until I feel like I’ve been productive that day. On days I don’t race to work after school, you’ll find me talking to my biology teacher, squeezing in tennis practice and racing to Scraps KC to volunteer. 

I peel out of the junior lot going exactly the speed limit three days a week in order to give myself enough time to get ready for work. Showing up to my job in anything less than a head-to-toe professional and trendy outfit with matching accessories and styled hair is simply unacceptable in my book.

When my AP English Language and Composition teacher Samantha Feinberg recently introduced the annual Moral Perfection Project, I saw my opportunity to test my boundaries and explore how “perfect” I could become. Turns out, my life isn’t nearly as perfect as I want it to be. And maybe that’s OK. 

Though I’ve strived for perfection on even the smallest things in life, this project taught me that it’s OK to take time to calm down and relax.

You’d think that no one could ever truly be perfect, but the project says otherwise. 

Based on Benjamin Franklin’s 13 virtues created to achieve human perfection, the project tasks students with choosing two of Franklin’s virtues and creating two of their own to monitor over 10 days. Although some of these virtues are obviously outdated — such as his virtue of chastity — many are still applicable today, like humility and justice. 

To achieve a perfect 100% on this project, I only had to log my progress even if I didn’t achieve my goals — but of course, I wanted to perfect them anyway.

I chose his two virtues of order — working to keep my life and space clean — and silence — trying to only speak when it benefits the conversation. Perfect for someone whose closet needs a major deep-clean and should learn to watch what they say every once in a while. I then created two of my own — procrastinate less and sleep more — both areas I’m constantly battling with. 

For the next 10 days I logged my every move throughout the day and made notes on my chart listing my virtues and my progress with achieving them.

Three hours into day one, I was already listing errors I had made. I just had to tell my friend about my recent re-watch of “The Barbie Movie” and the multitude of easter eggs I found in it in Spanish class when I should’ve been conjugating verbs and studying new vocabulary. 

So much for the virtue of silence. At least I still have three others to redeem myself — or so I thought. 

Day two wasn’t much better. My virtue of procrastinating less went out the window when I realized I had a project due by the end of the day. And no, I hadn’t started it yet. 

Day three consisted of me getting home from work just to throw my clothes on my bed and due to an unreasonable amount of TikTok, fall asleep at 1 a.m. — hours after I should’ve. 

The following seven days followed a similar routine — each time I thought I’d made it through a full day of being “perfect,” I somehow managed to slip up at the last second or remember a detrimental error I had made previously in the day. My life was proving to be nowhere near as perfect as I had worked to make it. 

I slowly began to uncover more flaws in my day-to-day life. I realized I should be paying more attention to some of Franklin’s other virtues. His virtue of frugality, for example, was one I particularly found myself in need of after going on an online shopping spree. By the end of day five I was signing up for a yoga class to try and incorporate the virtue of tranquility into my life.  

By day 10, I was exhausted. The constant attention to my movements, thoughts and choices wore me out more than my tennis practices ever could. 

I slowly began to understand why people say “no one is perfect.” No one can be perfect. If my 10-day experiment taught me anything, it’s that I should worry less about being exceptional in every aspect of my life and be more encouraging than critical towards myself.

The constant correcting and judging myself that came with the project made me realize I was doing that every day — just subconsciously. 

I’m not telling anyone to go ditch their homework or trash their room but we should remember that even our best work may never be 100% perfect. So we might as well try our hardest, and move on. 

I’d rather live a life I enjoy, than a life others view as perfect.