Zipping up my leather jacket, I stepped out of the white SUV, thanking Tyler 's mom for the ride. I walked toward the bowling alley with the winter breeze behind my back, confident that our team would be victorious. I changed into my blue and white bowling jersey with "Mitchell Jones" written on the back and went over to the rest of the team.
Our team had a winning streak and our bowling averages had all improved. We just won our first game in the playoffs and were two games away from winning the district championship. We were up against McGavock High school, Coach Stuart warned us they are a strong team with a high bowling average. We chanted "Go Royals!" and began practice before the game.
Unlike the others on my team, Andrew and David, I
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It all came down to the final round, both teams were neck and neck. David was up and he made a strike, putting us only a bit behind the other team; a strike would put us ahead and win the game. It was my turn. I high-five David. "You 're up, win it for us," he said before sitting down on a blue plastic chair. It was up to me, the fate of our team was on my shoulders. The thirteen pound bowling ball was pulling me down to the floor, melting me under the pressure. I took some deep breaths and calmed myself down. I rolled the ball, knocking down all but one pin. The season was over, we had lost.
I rode home that day in my dad 's old red Nissan Sentra. I was so disappointed in myself, I felt like I let everyone down. I got home and sat down in the living room with my mom. I told her how the game went and she told me not to worry about it. I thought about what would have happened if we had won and if I didn 't mess up. I remembered what it took to get there, all the hard work and dedication from the whole team. I recalled a quote my dad told me when I was young, "Life is a journey, not a destination." While we didn 't win, we enjoyed the journey there.
The next year I joined the team again, working hard and practicing to get better. I took any failure as a lesson to improve myself. We didn 't win that season, but this time I wasn 't depressed about the loss. I promised myself I would work hard at any goal I want to accomplish. That way, win or lose, I have confidence that I tried