All is black, and the only thing that I can notice is the loud sound of another beating heart. The score at this point is at 0 to 0, so I decide to take a chance. Quickly, I made my move in on a blast double. I am greeted by a bright flash of light that is almost too much to bear, and I soon realize my mistake. The world soon comes into focus and I’m aware of my surroundings. It is noisy, bright, and cold. It takes me a minute, but I soon just realize that I am now down 2 to 0. I may be down in this period, but I have just gained one of the most important qualities that will stick with me for the rest of my life: awareness.

Right off the whistle I had become aware of what was going on in my match. Even to this day, I use awareness. I use it when I’m outside taking care of livestock and also when I’m out hunting in the woods. For example, ever since I was ten years old, I have been going coyote hunting with a group of friends. We like to do coyote drives just like how some people like to drive deer. I have spent several seasons just walking the timber to push the coyotes to other group members with guns, and throughout those years I always had to be aware of my surroundings. The area that I am walking is always covered with thick brush, and if I don’t keep my eyes on my footing, I could easily end up getting seriously injured. Not only did I have to be aware of my footing, but I also had to know which direction to head. The woods that I walking are over four hundred acres, so if I don’t stay focused, I could easily become lost.

I never carried a gun until I was fourteen, but the second I started to carry, a new door had just been opened where I had to be aware of my total surroundings at all times. Not only did I have to be concerned with where I was going and the terrain, but now I had to know which directions were safe to shoot in. I must know which direction everyones is in before I can set up and perform the perfect shot. Awareness is one quality that I will continue to use all the way to the end of my career.

Period Two

Another quality that I have gained from my experiences in life is the ability to learn and obtain new knowledge. By having the right knowledge and mind set I can accomplish anything that I set my mind too. From a young age, I knew that I had a hard time reading; my problem wasn’t that I didn’t know how to read, it was that it took me a long time to read. I got help from my teachers and soon began to read a little faster. I was never much of a fan of reading books during the first period of my life, but as time went on, I soon found great books that could hold my interest. Without me obtaining new knowledge from teachers on reading, I would be an even slower reader than I am now and would have missed out on some great books.

The score is now 4 to 2, I knew that I was down because of my slow reading problem, so I take a chance with my best move, straight in on a high crotch. By doing so I had then gained a lead and got the knowledge that I needed to overcome the obstacles ahead of me. Another example of when I needed to gain knowledge to succeed was in a program called Youth Hunter Education Challenge (YHEC). This challenge cover eight categories of hunting, four of which are shooting and the rest our other hunting related areas. In 2017 I had a goal to become the state champion. By gaining knowledge and preparing for the challenge, at the time of the competition I was ready to achieve my goal. Just like in wrestling I learned that anything is possible if I set my mind to it and practise, and in 2017 I had become the senior champion of YHEC for the state of Iowa. Therefore, I had learned that knowledge is power and will help me to achieve anything that I set my mind to.

Period 3

I’m up 4 to 2, and we are both starting to get tired; however, we both push on as the 2 minute period comes to an end. Life is always going to try to knock me down any second that I let it, but I need to keep on fighting and never give up. Going all the way through the whistle and leave everything on the mat means that I tried everything that I could.

The outcome might not always be as I wanted but at least I know I tried everything that I could. The last quality that is gained is respect because there is always a winner and a loser. No matter which I am, I still need to show the other person with the same amount or more respect than the other person shows me.

Showing respect when I compete in life has allowed me to gain many new friends that also respect me. For example, in YHEC I gained one of my closest friends to this day in time: Remington Overstake. The first time I saw him I was only 12 years old, just starting YHEC with my family, and there he was, standing in a group of people wearing all military camo. My first thought was who was this weirdo, but as soon as we started to compete against each other we began to gain respect for each others abilities. It didn’t take us long to become friends, for our friendship was like the perfect takedown.

End Game

My match is over but even though this one has ended a new one is just about to begin. I won with a fall of 4 to 2, and by winning this match, I will now get to move on to districts and hopefully on to state,  Life is full of rounds of matches and from these matches I have gained so many qualities like awareness, knowledge, respect and friends. These qualities that I have gained and will continue to gain will put me on a path that will lead me to accomplishing anything that I put my mind too.