As the whistle blew, my heart stopped, and tears slowly began to crawl down my face. A feeling of disbelief overwhelmed me. We had just lost the championship game and what could be the last competitive football game of my life. All the hard work, commitment, sacrifice, devotion, determination, and focus throughout the season did not result in success. For four years, I had worked physically and mentally to achieve success in this final championship game, and my team and I failed. Although we ended up co-champions of our league, that tie was not good enough for me.
After a week or two of moping around, my body slowly recovering from the physical toll of the season, I found myself unfocused for the first time. My football and sports career seemed over; my eighteenth birthday was a few months away; my childhood was fading into the past, and the pressure to figure out what I wanted to do with my life was constant. So I began to reevaluate my goals and question who I am as a young man. And what I concluded is that I actually did not lose as much as I thought I had as I walked of the football field that day. I thought that all my hard work and commitment were for nothing, but I was wrong.
I have proved to myself that I have a strong work ethic to achieve goals. I have learned that I am capable of unwavering commitment to what I put my mind to. I now know that failure is a part of success, and when I fail, I am motivated to overcome that failure. I know how it feels to not win and be pushed to the ground, but I also know to always get back up and keep going. I have realized the game is never over because I am now entering the game of life, which, from what I hear, takes some hard work and commitment. I am ready for that challenge.
After a week or two of moping around, my body slowly recovering from the physical toll of the season, I found myself unfocused for the first time. My football and sports career seemed over; my eighteenth birthday was a few months away; my childhood was fading into the past, and the pressure to figure out what I wanted to do with my life was constant. So I began to reevaluate my goals and question who I am as a young man. And what I concluded is that I actually did not lose as much as I thought I had as I walked of the football field that day. I thought that all my hard work and commitment were for nothing, but I was wrong.
I have proved to myself that I have a strong work ethic to achieve goals. I have learned that I am capable of unwavering commitment to what I put my mind to. I now know that failure is a part of success, and when I fail, I am motivated to overcome that failure. I know how it feels to not win and be pushed to the ground, but I also know to always get back up and keep going. I have realized the game is never over because I am now entering the game of life, which, from what I hear, takes some hard work and commitment. I am ready for that challenge.
http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/398/Long-Shot
ReplyDeleteThe oral story of how a certain coach dealt with constant defeat of a high school football team. It was so bad the team members were heckled i the halls...also the story about the paroled (and expiated) offender that I told you about in class. The first part of you story, your ennui and uncertainty, is real, universal, and touching, but the moral leaves me wanting more.