Harris
Many people don’t believe in failure, they only care about success. People think that failure is a bad thing and it means you’re not good enough. I disagree. I think failing has nothing to do with whether or not you’re good enough. Failing is just a chance to learn from your mistakes and be better the next time. I believe failing is the key to success if you can find the confidence to keep your head up and keep pushing forward. I believe that to succeed you sometimes must first fail. My mom taught me that.
My sophomore year, I was 16 and really thinking about quitting football. I wanted to quit because my freshman year experience was not great. I tore my meniscus before the season even started. I had to work hard in physical therapy and in the weight room to get back to full health. It took a long time to get better. It was painful and frustrating. I would get angry easily in rehab because I couldn’t practice and be on the field with my friends. By the time I was cleared, I only got to play four games. Sophomore year football season started out a little better, but during the fourth game I got hurt again. I am a running back and was moving the ball up through middle when my ankle got wrapped up and then rolled. I was out again. I felt like I had failed.
At this point my mom explained that the only way this meant failing was if I stopped trying. This failure could be a chance for me to get even stronger if I let it. I worked hard again in rehab with the athletic trainer and was focused on turning this “failure” into success. Whenever I felt frustrated I would repeat in my mind what my mom said to me: to succeed you must sometimes fail first. By the end of the season, I was back and looking good in practice with my cuts and reads. I even got to play one game. I never gave up.
Turning failure into something I could learn from paid off my junior year. I was strong and injury free and played under the lights in every Friday night game. I even scored a few touchdowns. By the time I was a Senior I was really ready to show people what I could do. I had the confidence of being able to bounce back from injuries. I knew I could turn a failure into a success. I gave it my all every game until the clock hit zero. I am really glad I didn’t quit- and super grateful for my mom.
