It has been a while since my last post. The truth of the matter is that I get both busy and too lazy to post. With that said, it does not mean that I am not documenting. I have been writing a memoir, and this “book” is only twenty pages and growing. I have no idea what I am going to do with it but I figure I would share a small bit of it. I hope you like it.
Every year, Florida’s ACE schools held a huge competition called “State” where students competed in academics, athletics, and performances. I started participating in ninth grade, focusing on sports. Then, one year, a girl in my grade won the gold medal for Bible memorization. I thought it was impressive and decided to try it myself the next year.
Our school had two slots for Bible memorization, and four of us wanted to compete. The previous winner automatically qualified, so I had to compete for the second spot which I won. That year I came in second, trailing the champion by around 500 points. While I didn’t win, I wasn’t disappointed – the third place finisher was even further behind, and there were about fifteen participants in total.
The following year, the story repeated: I finished second to the same champion, this time by only 100 points. Though I don’t recall the exact number of participants, it had certainly grown. With that close finish, I felt confident about winning in my senior year. I even declared my goal to my teacher and principal.
However, instead of encouragement, they downplayed my chances. They insisted I focus on basketball, where I excelled. Feeling discouraged and undervalued, I made a poor decision – I stopped studying for the competition altogether. My motivation had been stifled by their lack of faith.
Come competition day, the number of participants had ballooned to around fifty – the event had become much bigger. I participated, but as expected with minimal prep, I performed poorly, seemingly finishing near the bottom. My teacher, despite not wanting me to win, looked upset – perhaps he had envisioned a second-place finish as a consolation prize.
Looking back, though I didn’t win, not being called up for a medal was more satisfying for me than a gold medal would have been. It was a moment of defiance against those who doubted me. However, I also recognize that I should have used their negativity as fuel and proven them wrong. This experience taught me a valuable lesson: believe in yourself, even when others don’t.
