Personal Narrative: Dealing With Failure

I have never been one to deal with failure very well, so when it hit me square in the face I definitely had a lot to learn. I have always been pretty athletic and very competitive, so when I was asked to join the volleyball team I was more than thrilled. However, after just a few practices I could tell that this was not going to be the same level of competition I was used to. Not only was I the shortest one on the team (which in volleyball was definitely a disadvantage), but I was easily the least experienced. My mom had been an outstanding player in high school, so I elicited some help from her. I practiced and practiced until I got to the point where I could at least compete with some of the other girls.

When it came time for games, our team could not get a win. No matter how hard we tried we always seemed to fall short. I was not used to this feeling and yet somehow I felt it was teaching me patience. Even though things were not going the way I wanted, I was still having a fun experience. Throughout the entire season we continually struggled and lost every set that we played.
As the game progressed, we seemed to be doing the best we had all year. We were all super enthusiastic because we knew we had nothing to lose. Eventually match point came around. We had not been this close to winning a set all season, and all we had to do was not let the other team get this next point. As the ball came into play, I saw it coming right towards me and just knew that this was my time to shine. This was the moment in all the movies where the girl wins the game for her team and they all celebrate wildly. However for me, the fairy-tale ending was not to be. The ball came right to my hands, and as I hit it, it went straight into the net and onto the