pressure
a force of great power
bridges collapse
diamonds are formed
all through pressure

stress is a kind of pressure
a dangerous one in fact as it holds the ability
to push the body and mind to its limits

stress pushed me
stretched me
built me
and broke me

the standards that upheld me
was the source of this pressure
pushing me to perform

but when the time came
as i sat on the piano bench
with the keys flowing by my fingertips
i fumbled the performance
striking a ear wrenching chord in the finale

here the pressure broke me
i did not meet the standard placed upon me

developing as the standards placed upon me grew
i refused to succumb to the pressure
but it stretched me through the long nights
of studies
wearing down me gradually
as the AP exam approached closer
i grew desperate to achieve not my standard
but instead now my goal

relentlessly practicing
the questions lost their meaning
my fingers went numb as they wrote incessantly
either it was right or wrong

i learned to turn a standard set upon me
into a goal i can achieve
something which instead of breaking me
now allows me to sacrifice whatever it takes
to build me

i sat on my bed shook
as my eyes stunned in disbelief
at the glaring five on my exam report
i truly saw how pressure
if used to push you towards your goal
your standard
can form diamonds