"[My father] sent me to a school for writing and arithmetic, kept by a then famous man, Mr. George Brownell, very successful in his profession generally, and that by mild, encouraging methods. Under him I acquired fair writing pretty soon, but I failed in arithmetic, and made no progress in it."
This statement was so surprising to me. Benjamin Franklin, one of our founding fathers, failing at arithmetic?!? It seems too preposterous to be true. When I think of someone like Benjamin Franklin, who was so successful in his lifetime and still maintains to be regarded with the upmost respect, it's hard to believe that they could fail at anything. The statement itself actually gives me a lot of hope, though. To me, it makes one of the greatest American leaders relatable and down-to-earth. The fact that he included that information about himself also says a lot. I shamefully admit that if I became famous, I would not want other people to know probably any of my greatest faults and weaknesses. I admire that Franklin was bold enough to state that arithmetic was something that he was just not good at. Next time I get down on myself about one of my academic weaknesses, I'll kindly remind myself that even Benjamin Franklin struggled with math.
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