竞争很有趣

Some of you might be thinking, "Who cares about a loss when you were only seven?“但让我告诉你，我在乎. I left that field red-faced from all the effort, and I cried the whole way home until I fell asleep. 长大后，我意识到不是每个人都像我一样好胜. 在学校，我总是想成为最好的. I'd race to be first in line because those small wins meant something to me.

 

The thing is, I had no idea what effect this had on others until fifth grade. 就在那时我碰壁了. 我有一个老师, 范妮, 谁说我太好胜了, 我占了太多空间, 如果我不改变, 这可能会在未来引发与他人的问题. 与此同时, my basketball coach kept emphasizing that winning wasn't everything; it was about participating.

 

从那时起，我开始质疑自己. 我是不是对别人太苛刻了? 我应该像其他人一样只是为了好玩而玩吗? After a few more practices, I couldn't stop thinking about what my coach had said. 所以，我去找他谈谈，表达了我的不同意见. I mean, what's the point of participating if you're not going to give it your all to win? 那天，我做了一个选择. I stood up for myself and decided I wouldn't change who I was or the values I was raised with just to please those looking for an easy way out.  

 

从六年级到九年级, 我发现自己在篮球比赛中更多的是在场边, and every report card seemed to carry a note about not giving others a chance. 我理解, 这可能是一个有争议的观点, 但我一直相信, 继续相信, that the idea of "having fun is all that matters" is typically something said by those who lose. 请不要往心里去, but supporting that statement suggests you don't need to put in the effort if you’re enjoying yourself. 我认为我们应该从另一个角度重新考虑这一说法. 竞争和付出你的一切最终会带来乐趣.

 

In other words, fun comes when you give all you have in everything you do. Think about the joy of winning a tough hockey game or acing a hard test you studied for. 那些时刻感觉不可思议，对吧? Compared to just breezing through a game against an easy opponent, they're way more satisfying. 在我们的世界里，竞争无处不在. 随着年龄的增长，步入现实世界, we'll come to understand that achieving our goals often requires relentless effort and determination, 即使这意味着牺牲眼前的享受.

 

所以为什么不从今天开始呢? 做任何事都要全力以赴, 不要把你的对手视为敌人, 而是作为帮助你进步的盟友.  As Bernie would say – competition is the most sincere form of friendship.

 

我承认, 在健康和不健康的竞争之间有一条细微的界限, 我还没弄明白. 但我有信心我能做到. 今天, I'm here to share a simple yet powerful lesson: competition isn't just about making ourselves better, 这也是关于提升他人. 因为让我们面对现实吧, 如果生活一直都很轻松, 当你踏入成人世界时，现实会给你沉重的打击.

 

完成, 我要感谢我的父母, 我的妹妹, 我的哥哥, my coaches and my teammates who make me better every day by making my life harder. And to 范妮, I respectfully disagree with what you told me for four years straight. Embracing who I am and taking up space has taught others to stand up for themselves. 现在，亲爱的范妮，我祝你好运，能管好我的小弟弟.