Victory & Defeat

“Some days making it to the end of the day is quite a victory.”

-Jennifer Brown

(Author of Hate list)

Everyone has had “one of those days.” There is no longer a need to explain what that phrase means. As soon as you hear someone say it, you know exactly what he means and just what kind of day he is having. We strive to always be at our best, but sometimes no matter how hard we try, our best isn’t possible or isn’t good enough. These are the days when just making it to the end of the day is considered a victory.

Our attempts, no matter how much effort and energy are expended on them, are not always successful. We try and fail sometimes, but we cannot let this stop us from continuing on with our lives. Sure failure is disappointing and undeserving at times, but giving up should never be an option. Anyone who has ever learned about history knows that the world’s greatest leaders and heroes preserved through some of the most unimaginable and difficult hardships. They faced adversity head on; most of them without hesitation. Hercules, for example, is considered the greatest epic hero in Greek Mythology. His life was filled with battling monsters, saving townspeople, and conquering evil. He is known for successfully completing the 12 labors that were assigned to him. His challenges and triumphs resulted in Hercules becoming the perfect illustration of the Greeks pathos, the experience of honorable tasks and suffering which led to his fame and immortality. Hercules is the perfect being to serve as an example of victory. 

So when things start to seem impossible, just know that it isn't always important whether or not you succeed, but your goal in these cases is just to make it to the end of the day. Because tomorrow is a new day, one in which you will get to start all over again, with new opportunities and new chances for success. 

Which way

“The first step toward success is taken when you refuse to be a captive of the environment in which you first find yourself.”

-Mark Caine

 

      The biggest decision of my life so far was undoubtedly where I was going to go to college. Being smart and hard working was always supposed to be beneficial, but in this case it results in having way too many options so I’m not entirely sure just how helpful it really turns out to be. There are so many universities to choose from, even just within the United States. Throughout my high school career, I received countless emails and pamphlets in the mail from different schools across the country informing me about their university. This can get extremely overwhelming for anyone, but especially for someone who is just a kid.

Now I tend to be a couple steps ahead of my peers, so I had been thinking about this decision for quite some time. How long exactly? My entire life. That’s right, the second I was old enough to know what college was, I began looking into it. One day, I came home from school when I was in fourth grade and told my parents that I was going to go to Penn State University. They were shocked that I even knew anything about college and by the fact that I was already thinking about where I was planning on going, since making that decision was still years away. Not to mention, I grew up in Florida so it seemed extremely strange to them that I had come up with a random school in Pennsylvania when I had never even been there before. Nonetheless, they did not say anything along the lines of absolutely not or that I was being unreasonable. They supported me and encouraged me every step of the way.

Fast-forwarding a bit, it is now nearing the end of my freshman year of college, and here I am attending Penn State University. My parents could not be any more proud of me, and I could not possibly be happier anywhere else. I am fully confident that choosing Penn State, even though it is a great distance from home for me, was the best decision I have ever made. Most of my classmates from my graduating class in high school chose a school not far from home. They decided to remain in the state of Florida, where many of them were born and raised. They will probably continue to spend the rest of their life right where they have spent it up until this point. I quickly knew that this was not even an option for me. I know and understand just how important is to leave your environment sometimes in order to really grow as a person and become successful in life. I took the initiative and refused to be restrained by the only surroundings I had ever known. And I am so happy that I stepped out of my comfort zone, no matter how difficult it feels to do so at times. 

WHat MAtters MOst is MiNd OvEr MatteR

“What happens is not as important as how you react to what happens.”      

-Thaddeus Golas

         In life, everyone experiences both good and bad times. As a result, we often find ourselves in unfortunate situations. We have basically two options when unlucky events occur, the first is to get discouraged and give up and the second is to suck it up and face the challenge at hand. They say that about 10% of life is made up of what happens to you, and the other 90% of life is determined by how you react. Complaining and getting down about the way your life is going at the moment will be of no help to you. The most successful people in life are not people who live lives without struggles, challenges, slumps, and hardships. Despite popular belief, they actually have more of the above, not fewer. This is true because they exert more effort and do more work, so consequently they have way more exposure to problems. They have learned how to deal with the tasks or trials in front of them, regardless of the level of difficulty. It is all about your mindset and how you approach them mentally. Mental stamina is even more important than physical stamina in so many cases. Those who make it in life and are considered heroes or survivors know this and that is what separates them from the rest of humanity. The real secret to success is to let nothing ever stand in your way or stop you from getting to where you want to be. Let nothing affect your performance or ruin your day. When you have a negative experience or make a mistake, let it propel you forward instead of holding you back. This may sound easy, but it is actually extremely difficult because it goes against human nature. Normally, we become sad, worried, depressed, and preoccupied with believing that we are incapable. Try to focus only on what really matters some time and see for yourself. It will change your life for sure.