The quote, “Quitters never win, and winners never quit.” repeatedly ran through my mind as I ran up and down the basketball court. I hated ever grueling second of basketball practice my senior year of high school. It was hard, and trying. Our coach only accepted our best and nothing less. She expected us to work and that meant working hard. Being sick was never an option; she would just tell us to sweat the sickness out of us. I hated every moment of practice. But I never quit. Yes, practice was hard, but in the game, practice was worth every moment of being yelled at and feeling as if I was going to die. I never regretted any of the practices that I went to, because the hardness of practice made the victory worth so much more.

Yes, this was just a simple example, but sometimes I wonder why we quit when things get hard. When we quit during the trying times, we never get to experience the sweetness of the victory in which we have longed for. Not quitting was a hard lesson for me to learn, but I will always be grateful to those who instilled into me perseverance. “There is only one thing that guarantees your failure, and that is if you quit.”