This I believe

 

William McConico

12/8/23

https://vocaroo.com/embed/1kqAvrWcTQ4R?autoplay=0

I believe in failure. I know this sounds overly negative and pessimistic but it is true. My core philosophy and the idea that drives me to be better is failure. I have naturally been good at everything I have done in life. This is not a brag, but most things, especially when I was younger just came easier to me then my peers around me. The first time that this really changed was sophomore year when I began to run Cross Country. I have never been very athletic, and I decided to go out and run Cross Country the first day after skipping summer workouts, twenty pounds overweight, and in ninety degree weather. Obviously in five minutes I was absolutely dying, and as I was running I was calculating how much it would take to pay my parents back for the shoes and cross country gear in order to let me quit. I decided not to quit, and it is very fair to say that I was beyond awful for the rest of the year. There were two important reasons why I continued to run cross country for two and a half years (besides the shallow reason of losing tons of weight). First of all, I saw constant improvement. Even though I knew I would never be good or even decent, seeing myself cut multiple minutes off of my time meant something to me even if no one else cared. Second and more importantly, it kept me humble. I got great grades and was very successful in everything else, so being in an activity where I had to work for it to actually be somewhat successful was important to me. I believe that pushing yourself to do things you aren’t good at and failing makes you a more well rounded person.

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