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5. FAIL... But Proud

I’ve failed… but I’m proud. I’ve finished last… yet I persevere. Our robot has fallen apart… but that didn’t keep us from making a better one. Our team has lost members… but I’m not leaving anytime soon. Growing up, the one thing I was afraid of was failure. I dreaded the idea of losing; not winning first was unbearable. Because of this fear, I kept myself from entering any competition that might make me last. Since I didn’t want to lose, there was no opportunity to win. I still had this attitude when I attended our high school robotics club’s first meeting. When our advisor began talking of the experiences we could gain through the VEX program, I was amazed. Somehow, I pushed aside my fear of failure and joined the team. I worked with rookies like myself and had the time of my life. Amazingly, when our team lost in quarterfinals at our first competition, I wasn’t devastated. Nor was I at the next competition, or the one after that. A year ago I would have abandoned robotics and isolated myself with every loss… now I take pride in not only my achievements, but also in my failures. I don’t grimace at the thought of lost competitions, but learn from each one of them to ensure the same problems won’t happen again. Sure I’ve failed… but I’m proud. And anyway, that was a while ago. You should see what I can do now, all thanks to VEX.