As my foot crossed the finish line I knew that I conquered my goal. All of the hard work I had put in over the season had finally paid off. Exhausted, I turned around to see if my teammate, Ellery, finished behind me. To my satisfaction, she did. Still breathing hard, I walked up to her and gave a high five. Shortly after, I was surrounded by the rest of the team. We waited anxiously to get the team results back. Knowing that the outcome was either going to be great or terrible, I felt nervous. That season my team and I felt what success is normally described as, winning.

Walking up to receive the medal, I was proud of myself and the success I had accomplished at such a young age. I thought to myself that the runners around me were not as successful since they did not have a medal around their neck. I thought that the only way to be successful was to win. Little did I know that in a couple of years I would consider them to be just as successful.

Success is defined as, “the achievement of something that you planned to do or attempted to do” (Macmillan Dictionary). It is human nature to strive for success. Many think that success is related to fame. Success is often just thought of being the best.

I have recently learned that success is more than being the best. This year in Cross Country my times were worse than in the past years. I was no longer finishing in one of the top spots on the team or receiving any medals. My outlook and definition of success changed completely.

As my feet took turns hitting the green ground, I got closer to the finish line. My body was telling me to stop what I was doing. Pain. All I could think about was the pain that was running through my body. It felt as if someone was stabbing my left shin. The front of the pack was far from sight. I continually had the thought of taking the easy way out, which was to walk. Determined to finish, I did not give up on myself. I kept pushing through the pain.

I was disappointed once I crossed the finish line. The time I read on the timer was worse than what I had seen in years past. I told myself that I did terribly. My head hung off my shoulders like a brick as I walked out of the shoot. I felt anything but successful.

“Success seems to be connected with action. Successful people keep moving. They make mistakes, but they don’t quit”(Hilton). I can relate this quote to my running. No matter how much I have wanted to quit, I have finished every race. Even if I had bad times, I can consider it success because I kept moving.

Success is to not give up. It is to accomplish something that took a lot of hard work. Even if all of that work lead to second place, it is still an achievement. All an individual can do is there best. People want to be successful as the ones around them. Many end up comparing themselves to others, but the only person they should be compared to is themselves.

As I walked off the green grass, I suddenly realized that I did it. I finished a race that I wanted to quit. I most definitely did not get first, but I worked hard and finished. After remembering that, I held my head high. I thought that I probably was not successful in anyone else's eyes, but I was “okay” with that. Shortly after, my mom walked up to me and gave me a hug. She told me that she was proud of me. I was shocked at what she had to say. She knew that success is more than receiving first.

The new outlook I have on success is more powerful than what I thought before. Success is not determined by the outcome, it is determined by the journey it took to get there. Looking at my past years of running, I think my most successful stories are the ones that I did not receive any medals for.

Works Cited

DeMers, Jayson. “51 Quotes to Inspire Success in Your Life and Business.” Inc, Inc., 3 Nov. 2014.

“Success - Definition and Synonyms.” Success (Noun) American English Definition and Synonyms | Macmillan Dictionary.