Throughout my younger years, I played baseball as my core sport and loved it more than any other activity. When I began to swim, I understood I would have to give up baseball for swimming.

I knew the season I turned 14 would be my last on the baseball team. Our team remained very strong from the previous season and soon we were in the championship. I arrived at the championship game late because of a swim meet, but luckily, my team was ahead. I missed a ground ball and struck out within the first 10 minutes of arriving. I chose to be negative after this, even with one of my good friends coming up with a clutch hit.

I began to cry when the game ended. My teammates said it was OK and that we won. All that mattered was that the team succeeded. However, I continued to cry and remained very upset. I didn’t even attend the end-of-the-year party. I let my personal thoughts on failure take precedence over the happiness of a great season with an amazing team.

My parents continued to congratulate me on two very great seasons in both baseball and swimming. I didn’t care at all about my successes and focused only on how poorly I played in the final game, clouding my accomplishments with the small things I did wrong. My choice to remain frustrated carried over into the end of my summer, diluting exciting experiences with feelings of disappointment.

My dad decided it was time to talk to me about how I was feeling. He mentioned that even the greatest of people are allowed to fail, but what makes them great is how strong they return after being defeated. He said that for me to be great, I needed to push pass my failures.
Reflecting on the situation now, I should have been happy my team won and that we had a great season.

The big picture often ends up being what matters in the end, not the little blemishes along the way. This will put everything in a positive light and move from the idea of selfishness to the idea of selflessness.