Young Writers Society

Try to think about life in a different way.

For example: You are a great basketball player, playing for the team you’ve always dreamed of.

You are with your team, in the final quarter and you know that there are less than 10 minutes to finish that game and walk away from there as winners or losers. The clock at the wall is going to decide which one.

Or it’s maybe you who does that?

Your team is leading by 2 points and you are the team’s captain and also the one who has scored the most points. Everyone in the audience expect from you to be the best, to give everything you can in order to win that game. It’s either that or you will leave that gym and they’ll forget about you, about that beautiful game lasting for three quarters and also they’ll forget about that number of points you are so proud of.

So you think about that and you see your coach approaching at you and the team and he gives the final orders. You listen him calling out your name and you know it’s going to be up to you, you are either going to make or break it.

You see your teammates, great athletes, amazing and devoted basketball players, looking at you and waiting for you to take the responsibility of how the game is going to end.

You can feel the pressure.

You see all of those people around you, your coach, your teammates, your girlfriend in the audience, your proud father and mother, your friends, and you see in their eyes that they believe in you, they know you can make it.

And then you look at the mirror in the locker room and you see your face and there’s just one question spinning on your mind: Am I going to make it and am I ready and good enough for this?

Suddenly, you forget about all the faces outside and their fate in you.

All you know and all you can think about is doubt. You doubt yourself. You are not sure whether you can do what everyone’s expecting from you.

And then you get out on the court and you give your best.

At the end of the game the audience is still applauding. The question is: whose win are they applauding? 

At the end of the game there is a team that wins and one that loses the game. Which one’s yours?

At the end of the game there is a game clock as a reminder of all those points the teams scored.

At the end of the game you see yourself stuck at the middle of the gym, staring at that game clock and wishing you could go back at the beginning of the final quarter and change everything.

That game clock that shows the result is just that… a game clock that is going to be restarted and it will show someone else’s points tomorrow.

That game clock doesn’t show every ounce of strength you put into every shot you’ve made that night.

You know it. But all you can do is see everybody’s faces around you being disappointed because it turned out the way it did.

You can see the audience leaving the gym and you can hear them talking of how the team that lost had a bad game.

Did you?

Did you, as a single basketball player, playing on your own, put in a team, on the court, surrounded by all your family and friends and fans, have a bad game? Did you?

You scored so many points. You made so many assists. You kicked yourself up to the point you doubted yourself.

So, is that a bad game?

Or is that result an excuse to focus on the failures in life, instead of focusing on the successes you’ve accomplished?

You will push the tape from that match away and you will hide it in your drawers for many years because you don’t want to watch it and go over that again, you already know how it ends, don’t you?

You know the result perfectly well. What’s the point in watching it?

But one day you will be reminded of that game.

A family member will show you a photo of that day, a fan will ask you about your personal score of that day, your girlfriend will mention the name of the gym or you will see the tape in the last drawer where you keep it for years.

It doesn’t matter how, but you will be reminded.

And you will open that drawer, and you will put that tape on and you will watch that match.

Since the very beginning till the very end.

And you will see that for all these years, you’ve been wrong.

You’ve only focused your energy on the result, and it was never about that.

It was about all those great points you scored, and all those great assists you’ve made, and the bits of advice you gave to your teammates, and your team spirit, and selflessness.

It was never about the result, it was about the game.

So, are you proud of the game called life?

Are you proud of what you’ve achieved so far?

Don’t look at the boards with numbers, or the bank accounts, or your wallet… look next to you!

Who do you see?

Are you all alone?

Do you have someone next to you? Someone who loves you, respects you, misses you and wishes you goodnight and good morning?

Do you have that special someone right next to you?

If you do, you are doing great. You are playing the game, and it’s okay, the result doesn’t determine who you are. The number of your bank account is just that, a number.

If you by any chance don’t have that special someone but you have a huge sum of money, and a big house, and numbers that show you that you did great in life, then I am sorry to break it to you, but you haven’t.

You played the game poorly, but you have the score on the wall that shows the opposite right?

Don’t focus on that!

Forget about it, and change your game. There’s always time and strength, you just need will.

And don’t worry about changing the numbers.

People will always remember just the final result of a game. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t play.

The world will always determine you by the sum on your bank account. But you are not just that!

And amidst that, when you thought everyone forgot about how good you were at that game just because you lost it by two points or so, someone will show up and remind you that they haven’t forgotten, that they remember how great that night was, how you shined.

That was definitely not the night that you need to avoid or forget about.

That was the greatest night of your life. That was the night you should always remember and cherish in your memories.

That was the night when you learned that numbers are just numbers, what counts, is how you play the game.

And you had a great game. Despite that game clock proving it differently.