Success: Because Advice, Plus That's What Happened Today

Sooo...normally I don't brag about things. But today I placed 5th in Lincoln Douglas Value Debate and I'm already qualified for Nationals. I also earned a 7th place Debate Speaker award and 4th place in Dramatic Interpretation. 
 But the best part undoubtedly was my friends and learning to better represent the message of Christ our Messiah. I love my community (and my freedom of speech. Bum dum tish for my Stoa LD buddies ).

I wasn't the only one in my club that did well. My best friend Gloria kicked some pants in Apol, broke in LD, too, and yet another award in speaks. My favorite bro Jamie got a LD checkmark, too, and outbossed everyone claiming 3rd in HI. His sister Cailey and my sistah from another mistah broke in OI. And my Parli partner's sister Becca broke in Impromptu. So, so proud.

Now, chances are if you've made it this far you skipped all of that. Or you're my mom. (Lie: she doesn't read my blog ;p)

So here's that advice I was promising in my long title that would never be an acceptable debate tag:

#runonstentences

Anyway.
Ahem.
My readers ready?
My computer?
I'll begin.

ITS NOT ABOUT WINNING.

I know, I know, but hear me out. It's not the same message you've heard before. Not exactly, anyway.

You have four years of speech and debate. Six if you started in middle school. If you live for even eighty years, that's 5% of your life.
You will spend the rest of your life living out your talents, your purpose, your ambitions. You will continue to touch people and make decisions and arguments.
This time is not for you to succeed. Seriously. This time is to prep you for success. This is to prepare you for the other 80% (you probably spent some time as a little kid before debate...unless you did Juniors).
That's right.
You heard me.
Speech and debate is just prep-time.

You are here to perfect your speaking, thinking, and presentation ability. You're also here to learn humility, grace, bravery, and hard work. You are here to make friends and gain mentors. You are here to learn and grow.
You are not here to get trophies.
Now, of course, I've just been bragging about my trophies. They are great reminders of how far we've come, of our potential, tokens of our hard work. It's like I always say, something I partially stole from something Anne Hathaway said during one of her acceptance speeches,
"Trophies are just blunt objects we use to fight the monsters of self-doubt."
But you are the one doing the fighting. With or without a trophy, you are the one fighting the self doubt. Whether you do it by gazing at that trophy on your shelf or by gazing at that spot where you want that trophy to be, keep fighting.
But the trophies are only blunt weapons, tokens, representations of progress.

So every time you don't get a trophy, a medal, a certificate, or a green checkmark you have still gained progress. You are still learning, You are still living out the purpose of speech and debate.

In fact, if the greatest thing you ever did was win a trophy and peak at fifteen, that's kinda sad. But you won't. Trust me.

 So be happy. Smile. Encourage and congratulate others. Read those ballots. Work harder. Be honest. Fight fair.

You are so much more than the trophies you hold or don't hold. And you will be so much more than a first-place-speaker.