If there is one thing that I hate more than anything in the entire world, it’s losing. Not many people know this, but I’m pretty competitive. I like to say that I get it from my mom (she too is competitive), but she thinks I developed this wonderful trait all by myself.

It’s pretty natural I think, to want to be the best, to want to be the winner. There’s nothing wrong with not winning, if you’re into that kind of thing, but I (and I think most people) like to win. It’s a pretty great feeling to be a winner.

A lot of our life is centered on competition. Schools compete against other schools in sports, and athletes devote hour and hours of their time to practice to be the best and beat their opponents. Students compete with each other for grades, to get on the Headmaster’s List or Principal’s List.

They compete to set the curve for tests in classes. We compete to get our favorite parking space in the parking lot, to get into the school we’ve been dreaming of, to get food at lunch. Life is a competition.

Let’s face it folks; people don’t play to lose.

But, I don’t think that’s a bad thing. I think that by having the spirit of competition burning deep inside us, we get a passion that fuels us onward to achieve everything we’ve ever wanted.

We work harder, dedicate ourselves, and devote more of our time and energy to making sure that we master whatever task is at hand and move beyond “average” towards “the best.”

In today’s world, you have to be rough and tough and ready to fight to the finish. This doesn’t mean to dismember your neighbors to eliminate them as a possible threat. It means be prepared. We all want to win, but we can’t achieve that if we sit around and not do anything about it. We must be proactive!  We need to work for it.

Remember that saying about how it’ll take blood, sweat and tears to get what truly makes you happy? It reminds us all that we can’t get anything by just cruising through life and never putting in any effort. The best things in life will often be the hardest to acquire.

Because of my competitiveness, I’ve gotten to achieve leadership positions within the community, be accepted to schools that I had previously only dreamed of, win scholarships, and be accepted to some prestigious organizations for all of my hard work.

I’ve gotten to have front page stories in the newspaper (but only after staying at school until 10 p.m.), and one of the best rewards I’ve gotten is to write this column as a reward for the hard work I put into the newspaper.

So, work hard, Warriors. All that work is bound to pay off — it has for me.