Competitiveness—my personality.
Sophomore year. A group of buddies and I are playing basketball in a friend’s basement. It is one of our usual pickup games, smack talk and everything. A sport. A game. A competition.

I drive to the lane, pull up for a jumper. My elbow gets slapped. “Foul.” After taking the ball to the top of the key, I pass the ball to the defender. “Check.” He, my best friend, throws it back at my chest. “You’re such a bitch,” he says.

I didn’t like that. So I react. Of course. I grab him, push him up against the wall, and tell him to “chill.”

Now he is angry, too. So he reacts. Of course. After a fist is driven into my stomach, the game is over. We all go home.

The next day: A phone call. An invitation. I’m at his house. And everything is fine. No hard feelings between us.

Competitiveness—my strength. It’s about craving victory, not stopping at anything, no matter the score, no matter the circumstance. It’s about having the desire to win. I’m competing every season, every game, every play.