Debate is not an activity; it's a lifestyle. When i started as a freshman, I learned the value of hard work, perseverance, and competition. Now, as a senior, I wake up at 5:30 AM every other weekend in a different city, wearing a snazzy purple tie, to get the intellectual rush of speaking at 300 words per minute in a classroom discussing whether we are on the precipice of a nuclear war or not. Debate demands superhuman dedication. It's hours of work every day, half of your weekends spent away from home in a dinky hotel room. After attending a cumulative 18 weeks of debate camp, i know that no matter the results, the work that I put in isn't for the shiny plaque that my principal wants to show off, or the gavel for mom's trophy case, but for the value and the experience of the activity.