Back to School Essay Contest Winner Brianna B. - 11th Grade

The Most Important Lesson I Learned in School

by Brianna B.

I quickly readjusted my grip within the sweaty hands tightly grasped within mine. I squeezed my right hand and lifted my head just enough to see her pass me a quick, nervous smile. It seemed that even the vast expanse of the Xcel arenas couldn’t bottle up the anxiety any longer than we could. I kept my head up and looked down the line that consisted of the twenty-three other girls that made up my team. Their heads bowed in anticipation, I could see hair pulled back into perfect buns with more hairspray holding it down than there were people in the stands. The sparkle of our multi-colored sequined costume tops glimmered in the bright, blinding light beaming down from the giant lights overhead. We looked the part. We looked like the state champions that we had worked all season to become.

We lost. The final moments of our seemingly endless season summed up with a second place, red-ribbon medal placed around our necks and the title of Class A State High Kick runner-up. But all our hard work. Where had it gone? Hadn’t we proved ourselves worthy of the coveted title of champion? I worked for four months through excruciating three-hour-a-day practices to realize that sometimes you work the hardest to achieve a goal you’ve set and you somehow end up falling short of your expectations. It’s not the fact you simply failed to obtain the prize you coveted and eyed during the process, but it is the journey you took to get to that place, the place that brought you to a higher understanding of yourself.

Devastation created an ocean of disappointment that we all tried to hide. We were drowning in it. It’s hard when you can be your own harshest critic. Not only did we feel the pressure of the previous dance record that was broadcast on numerous letterman’s jackets showing the three state champion patches, but we felt the pressure from ourselves to succeed, pressure from past dance members, parents, and fans. The insurmountable pressure didn’t exist through intentions, but rather through the need we felt to prove ourselves as a team. Doubted in the beginning of the season and already hearing comments regarding our lack of potential, we pushed ourselves harder than ever to prove we could show what we were made of. Our intense commitment to the team reflected our attendance at the three-hour practices four days a week, the weightlifting and conditioning on Wednesdays, and the long all-day practices on Saturdays. Slowly, our hard work paid off as we began to take first at every competition. We couldn’t be stopped and we had our eye on the ultimate prize, and we wouldn’t stop until we could feel the weight of the gold around our sweaty necks.

Numbness swept over my body when we were announced as runner-up. Disbelief filled my thoughts as we lined up to receive our medals, our faces on the MegaTron. A slender, suited man placed the silver medal around my neck and congratulated me on my hard work. Then it hit me. We had lost. Everything we devoted to the team; our time, our bodies, our lives. It all seemed worthless now as we walked off the arena floor with our coveted first-place medals around another team’s neck. Upon realizing this, immediately the tears started rolling down my face. I found my way through the crowd of dancers and up the stairwell to the awaiting fans and parents. Despite the previous success of the team and how far I had come personally in the development of my dancing skills, I couldn’t help but let the disappointment take control and pour out of my eyes. Tears were the only release I felt to help convey the sadness that filled my body. Parents awaited their daughters; arms open wide, in anticipation of the tears they knew would greet them atop the stairs. Friends and family provided the only assurance we could find, and we received their hugs and words of congratulations with willing and open hearts.

Failure. It’s amazing what one can learn from simply failing to achieve what they set out to do. Despite the extreme disappointment I experienced from our loss at State that day, I learned more about myself and what I consider most important. I had never taken the time to top and give myself the credit for devoting so whole-heartedly to my team, and to pushing myself to prove deserving of my position on the team. I had never taken the time to stop and realize that winning isn’t everything? The success I experienced with my team had built up my character, but failing to gain the ultimate prize revealed it.

Brianna B.
11th Grade