Owen M. – December 12, 2018

Try Again

On January 1, 2015, Florida State played Oregon in the Rose Bowl as a semifinal game in the first year of the new FBS playoff system. FSU did not win, so we didn’t move on to the National Championship game. Before this game, I was used to winning, from a college football perspective at least, and it was great. After that year, things went downhill for our team, and the program began to decline. And throughout this downward spiral, especially after this season, my frustration and anger have continued to grow. But I need to figure out how to stay calm and just move on, but it can be really hard to do that sometimes.

I know that I, personally, cannot help FSU become a better team; I can just take the loss and move on while continuing to cheer them on. But I obviously lose in my own life as well, some losses are small - like last week when I wanted to eat at Chick-fil-A but I had to go home and eat instead, and some are bigger, especially to 7 year old me. On Christmas day in 2011, I got a brand new bike; I was so excited that I immediately asked my dad if we could go on a ride. This was my first bike with the brakes on the handles, which meant I was a little bit nervous and confused on how to steer it. So when I went down my first hill I
squeezed the brakes too hard and then flew over the handlebars, onto the road, to the hospital, and back to my house. Except in real life, it felt a little longer than that. After that, I did not ride my bike again for over 4 months. Looking back, I realize that I was taking two losses for the price of one thing. The first loss was my injury, and the second loss was that I was denying myself the fun of riding my bike because I was too scared to ride again. All through my life, I have experienced things I would call losses. Some are big, and some are small.

Looking back, some of the things that I thought at the time were HUGE
losses seem pretty silly now. The difference is in how I deal with the loss. I’ve realized that if I just accept the outcome and move on, I have won half the battle. To win the other half, I have to get back up and keep trying. FSU never once this season forfeited a game because it would be too hard to win. They continued to play. Just like how I got back on my bike after my crash. In the end, life is full of loses, but I can turn my losses into wins if I am willing to get back up and improve in the end. This I believe.