What it Takes to Prepare for Competition -- for Life! ~ by Destinee Coates

Imagine this:  You're pacing the room back and forth, your heart beating so hard you swear it could jump right out of your chest. Your palms are sweaty, your nerves shot, and all you want is to hear the words ‘You're gonna do great.’ Even though you know you aren't going to believe them. Then you stop to think about everything that you learned to lead up to this point. All the times you spent practicing and making sure you had everything down to a science.

Learn. Practice. Practice. Practice. Learn more. Practice. Practice. Practice. Learn more. Practice. Practice. Practice. Learn more. Practice. Practice. Practice. Learn more. Practice.Practice. Practice. Get the point?

In order to be good at anything you do, you need to persistently practice.

As I stood in the hallway waiting for my turn to compete, I reviewed everything I knew to be true -- everything my teachers taught.

I entered the room compete knowing that I had been taught well. I did what I knew to do.

I exited the room knowing that I did my very best.

But I left Hershey with more than just a medal. I left -- knowing that I can save a life.