I Believe in Myself

Everyone has something that they believe in. No one can choose it for you and no one should. Some people say they believe in love. Others might say that they believe in happiness, destiny, or faith. And I believe in all of the above as well, but I believe in something much bigger, I believe in myself. I believe in who I was, who I am, and who I will become. I know that I have to be strong to accomplish my goals in life: to reach the finish line that I have been racing for. Looking back, I want to feel like I did everything the way I wanted with no regrets.

In my younger years, I liked to run races, whether on the track, around the reservoir, or just on the streets. A lot of people would tell me that I could do anything that I put my mind to but I needed to believe that I could do it not just by someone telling me. So many times when I got to the race I would psych myself out thinking that this is too hard, I’ll never beat anyone, or I just can’t do it. I had problems believing in myself, but then one day at a track meet my coach decided to have me run the two mile at the NCC meet. I had run that race many times before but was never that successful. The girl that I had always run with and had always finished behind happened to not be running that day, so as I prepared for the race I was getting excited thinking that I could really win. I got up to the start line and the gun went off. I took off with the whole pack of sixteen around the track on a journey of eight laps. It just so happened that for four of those laps I led the girls on the track. But then I could hear voices that I knew were yelling for me and telling me to run faster because they believed that I could do it. So with three laps left to go I left the group, picking up my pace. As I rounded each corner I could hear my friends telling me how far I was ahead of the others. But when I got in front of the stands I could hear my mother telling me my time for each lap, and my father telling me to pick it up and that I only had a couple laps left. Each time I ran by I could see my family smiling at me knowing that I was doing great. So, three fast laps later, I was crossing the finish line in first place with my best time ever. I had a smile on my face because I knew what I had accomplished for myself and for my team. I believed in myself so much that everything that day was great. I had made my coach, who happened to be my mom and the rest of my family so proud on that day. From then on, everyday I think back to that glorious day and remember what I can really do if I just believe in myself. That day proved by setting my mind to something, I can accomplish anything. Today, when I doubt myself I remember my race. The race I knew I could win.