Knowing that there is more to life than just sports our coach assured us with these harsh words as we stormed the court, “This is all we’ve worked for now let’s win this ship.”

With hopes high, the piercing whistle signified the start of what would be the game of our lives. Fighting hard for the next twenty minutes we would find ourselves in the fourth quarter of a national basketball game being down by five.

With sweat beading down my face my heart sunk like the titanic as the final buzzer blared finalizing our loss. I looked up at the score board as I accepted my fate studying the numbers that signified our loss. 52-53 would be permanently etched in the back of my head. We had lost the game by one mere point. With the other team cheering in their victory, we reluctantly accepted the trophy from the man who towered over us. Tears as hot as lava now rushed down my face replacing the sweat I had accumulated during the game. As I looked around, I realized that we had actually done really well. We fought hard despite what the score board had said.

Scientist say if you let your children lose they will be more aware of their surroundings I found this true because I had not realized how basketball isn’t everything until losing the game. Losing a game of such importance showed me that losing teaches more life lessons than winning. If everyone in the tournament had received a trophy it would send “conveying messages” as Psychotherapist Amy Ellis would say and it would “take away from the significant meaning of actually winning “Ellis has also found in her studies it hurts your kids in the long run to cheat and let them win. If I hadn’t have lost the basketball game I wouldn’t know how to react in the future. For example, if I didn’t get the job promotion I wanted when I was older I probably would have not reacted appropriately so losing has actually helped me more than wining. In conclusion, if you ever find yourself playing a board game with the family or having any type of competition try your hardest to humbly win and evaluate and accept defeat when presented.