As I ponder about the successes in my life, I can't help to think of all the times that I fell flat on my face and had to pick myself. One such instance occurred during my second last year of swimming. I had won the University National Title in a swimming event and there were two major international competitions on the horizon. Knowing that my chances were really good at making the teams, I threw myself into it as I swam longer hours with greater intensity; ate better; and lifted heavier weights. The trials came up and I made the finals in both of my events. I was ready to tackle this last hurdle but to no avail. I miss making both teams by eight one-hundredths of a second. I was devastated, to say the least. I began to wallow in my sorrow. It took some time to think about it but knew the Olympics were in less than a year so I picked myself up along with my bruised confidence and began to train once again, but this time for the Olympic team.
The power of choice is an incredible thing. It takes strength and resolves to push through the sting of failure, but the lessons it taught me are very far-reaching and have helped me become the person I am today.
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