~Eston Brainerd, Class of 2023

The Struggles and Successes of Life

Persistence is a powerful thing, and with enough of it, almost anything can be accomplished. When I am persistent and determined to accomplish something, there is so much I can do, but it is always challenging to keep that motivation. It’s not about how much you fail, but how much you are willing to keep on failing until you succeed. A lot of the time, it seems easier to just give up, But no one would succeed in anything if everyone had that mindset of just giving up. Failure makes me stronger and smarter.  When I fail at something, it just makes me more determined to succeed next time.

A couple of years ago, I was on a futsal team, and we made it into the finals. We played many other teams and only lost one game, and we were playing the only team who beat us. Our whole team was nervous, and flashbacks of the last game started to come back. We started the game with them scoring a goal off a break away in the first three minutes. 

The little hope we had of winning this game was immediately shattered, and we already felt defeated. The whole first half went as well as the first 3 minutes, with them scoring 2 more goals making it 3-0, and there were too many close calls to count. Team spirit was way down from our normal upbeat selves, and some people started to give up. But our coach was not having that and he encouraged us. It was the finals, and he told us we couldn’t give up now. We knew we could play better, and we just needed to keep on trying. We knew there was still a slim chance of winning, and that was all we needed. We knew that there was no chance of us giving up, so in the second half, we were playing much better. We had the power of determination and persistence. 

Gradually, as we kept playing at our best, we started to make a comeback. It was 3-1, then 3-2, then finally 3-3. With 4 minutes left on the clock, we tied it up, and we had the persistence to keep on playing until in the last 2 minutes of the game, I stole the ball from one of there defenders passed it to a teammate, he shot and scored, and won the finals.

Persistence can be tough to maintain, especially in the face of almost certain defeat, but if you want to succeed, you can’t let these things stop your drive. When I thought we were going to lose, I almost gave up, but doing that would have sealed my fate, and we definitely were going to lose. 

Not giving up and persisting through challenges can get you far in life.