"I feel like a loser."
“I feel like a loser."
Those were the words that came to my mind as I heard my name over the speakers.
"2nd Place... Brian To!"
My teammates around me cheered, but I felt like a failure. 😔
"What? How could this happen? I've won 1st place ever year... until now."
30 Second Story Time
It was my senior year in high school, and I was captain of the Greek history academic team.
For the past 3 years we’ve been on I’ve been on a winning streak. First place every time without fail.
I was the State’s BEST Greek history nerd.
I was confident. Too confident.
And I was sure that 1st place was in the bag.
It was practically written in STONE we would take home 1st place.🥇
But this year was different...
I started slacking off in practice.
I ended study meetings early.
I joked around constantly.
I thought I knew better than everyone else on the team and my hubris was getting in the way of our success.
It wasn't until the competition was over and I heard my name over the speakers that I realized what happened….
I had let my ego get in the way of our success.
And now?
I felt like a failure.
But instead of falling into despair, I took this lesson to heart.
I learned that being confident is good, but humility and respect are just as important.
I also realized that success isn't always measured in 1st place finishes.
Success is measured in the effort we put into something, the relationships we make, and the lessons learned along the way.
Which brings me to this week's announcement...
I won 3rd place at a No-Code Weekend!
THIRD FREAKING PLACE!!🤯
(I never expected to win anything, let alone take home a prize. )
This time, I was proud.
Even if I didn't take home the top prize, I felt like a winner.😁
Thank you for all the beta testers:
Christine Trac
Maha
Dylan Bridger
Feenix Pan
Shruthi Sundaram
And also these individuals that gave me their support + feedback:
Jason Leow, Kevon Cheung, Jannis Fedoruk-Betschki, Jen Tran, Ari Lerner, Arvindh Sundar, Wilson Komala, Mohammad Emran, Mattia Righetti.
It just goes to show that, even if you don't always come in first place, success can be found in the journey you take.
You can check out my project submission here:
🧰The Hungry Writer’s Toolbox 👈
That’s all for this week.
See you next time!
Brian “Happily 3rd” To