Undergraduate / 'I lay my heart on the line' - North Carolina [4]

Hey Guys, please pitch in your reviews for this supplemental essay. Will return the favour. Thanks :)

Prompt: Tell us about a time you failed. How did you react and what , if anything, did you learn?

I always imagined I could be what I wanted to be. I liked to think of myself as a winner. I won't blame myself - I always won. At everything I did. Until that day - the day of my final football game at the 'DDCSA championship'. I had been sure of myself, of our game, of the team. They were all ready and so was I. The whistle blew. The cheers rose. The players took their positions. I was hooked. The game began.

The honor of my family, team and self is at stake. Everyone is expecting me to do big things. I will. My whole body and soul are to be thrown recklessly about the field Every time the ball is snapped; I will be trying to do more than my part

My teammates exchanged glances. They knew I would do it - their star striker. I would do it to win the match - the final goal. I could feel a thousand pair of eyes looking at me. Sweat trickled down my back. Murmurs could be heard. I moved ten steps back. My eyes danced- first on the ball, then on the goalpost and then back on the ball. Thud. Kick. The world collapsed. The sky sniggered. The cheers rose. My imaginings fell - the loudest clatter. The rough earth scrapped at my knees. My head trying to find refuge in my two shaking hands, refused to admit. My senses held me captive. I had missed the goal and there was no turning back.

That goal changed me - not as a person, but as a player. I learnt that I was not a phenomenon - just a 16 year old footballer who still had a lot to learn. And so I learned. I learned the value of practice. I learned the value of trying. I learned how extremely hard but essential it was to not give up. I learnt to value my skill - To value my determination - to make use of it. Most importantly, I learnt that winners were not born. They were made; made through perseverance, through effort and chiefly through not giving up. I had worked hard to get to where I was, but now that I had gotten this far I didn't want to be remembered as just another player. I wanted to go down in the history of football. I wanted to mark an era. I wanted to be a different player and with goal - I did.

When I take that field today, I lay my heart on the line. From the souls of my feet, with every ounce of blood I've got in my body, I lay it on the line until the final whistle blows. And when I do that, I never lose.