Only Failure Can Lead You Closer to Success by Kolton F.
As I finish my senior year of high school, if there's one thing that I have learned
from all of these years it’s that failure is the only thing that can bring you closer to
success. I've been wrestling almost my whole life and I can't tell you how many times I
have failed from my first year of wrestling all the way up to now. Ever since I was a little
kid, I've dreamed of getting on the state podium, but every year I always came up short.
Since this is my senior year of high school, this was going to be my best year for
wrestling, I came into districts with the first seed. If anybody had to bet on who the
champ would be at my weight, it was me. They knew this because everybody knew the
work I put into that sport, not just in season, but in the off-season, as well.
The tournament started and as it went on, I eventually made it to the finals. It
definitely was one of the closest matches of my career. In the first period there was no
score and in the second period I took bottom, he ended up holding me down the whole
period and I couldn't get out, we ended the second period 0-0. We got into the third
period and he took bottom. He ended up getting an escape which is rewarded with 1
point, I knew I had to score quickly. I was really pushing for the takedown and not
backing down, but he had a really good defense on his feet, finally, with a couple of
seconds, I got in on his legs as we scrambled. I finally got him still and I am inches to
the takedown, and then the sound of the bell. With a score of 1-0, I lost.
Usually, they would take the top three up to regionals, but this year was different
with the virus, and so they were only taking the top two, and the loser from the finals
had to wrestle off for a true second match. Well, sure enough, I couldn’t get my head
straight after the finals, and got caught in the true second match with a loss, and right
there the season was over.
A few days after the tournament, my practice partner’s father told me about the
story of the last game of his high school football career, how the very last play of his
career was in overtime and he threw a pick-six. He described how if they won, they
were going to playoffs, how he was so close to the touchdown, and then all of a sudden,
his whole high school career was over and it reminded me how quickly things can
happen. I've seen so many people fall short of their goals, not because they didn’t work
hard, but because they didn’t work hard enough.
I once heard the saying, “if you don't fail you are not trying hard enough.” I
believe in order to succeed in life you have to fail, but it’s not about getting by easy; it’s
about learning from your failures and never giving up. I believe life is full of ups and
downs and the best thing you can do is use the downs learn from them and make it so
they never happen again.
