lj115+Winning+is+Everything

=**//Winners, Whiners, Wailers, Weepers//**= = = = = =Don't you love the great sensation of winning! Well, not everybody. In Washington State, a college senior was playing softball. She had never hit a home run in her life. Until today. This game was for the championships, and the score was neck and neck. She was running the bases, and then fell. None of her teammates could help her up. But it all changed. A girl named Mallory, a player on the other team with more home runs than anybody in her league, asked if they could carry her. The umpire said "Yes" and she and another girl carried her around the bases, touching her foot on them. Mallory's team lost. Do you think Mallory, the affectionate, kind-hearted girl, thought that winning was everything? I didn't think so. Winning is not everything and other things are more important.= = = =One reason that winning is not everything is that winning can lead to poor sportsmanship. In the Hunger Games, Katniss could have won by herself, but because she wanted to share it with Peeta, she let them both win. Somebody who has poor sportsmanship can create enemies on the court. You can become overconfident and become a braggart. If you become really obsessed, you can start to cheat to make sure you always win. For example, Lance Armstrong was a really good biker, but he decided to take steroids, or drugs that make you more athletic, and when people found out, they stripped him of his gold medals and was never allowed to compete again. Is winning that worth it to cheat and never be able to compete again? Some people may say that winning boosts your self-esteem, but if your self-esteem goes too high, it can lead to all of these terrible things.= = = =Also, if you become obsessed with winning, it can hurt your health. Sometimes, people push themselves too hard and overtime develop anger management issues. This will make people not like you. Also, you can break a bone and hurt your body, if you get into injuries. Former college cheerleaders confessed that to stay on the cheer leading squad, they had to be thin. To do this, they made themselves regurgitate, or vomit their food to stay skinny, and ate dieting pills. Would you really injure yourself to hear the crowd go "hurrah"? You may get money for winning, but to me being a healthy, happy person is more important.= = = =Lastly, and what I think is the most important, it is better to have fun than to win. Some people may think that winning is really fun, but maybe you should hang up your uniform for one game, and let someone else be the star. On one hand, some people may say that winning is really fun, but friends will think that is all that you care about and throw away the friendship bracelet you gave them. Also, winning can make you unhappy. A person like Harriet Tubman, during the eighteen hundreds, would not think winning is everything because after getting her own freedom, Harriet saved many other slaves, too. When you find yourself practicing to win, you won't have time to do other things. Your grades, attitude, and friends will plumit to the ground. Would you rather have fun in the sun or win in the wind?= = = =Even though some people do not really care about winning, some others do and think that it is everything. Somebody like Jane Goodall may think that winning is everything because that got her her job, but in a lot of normal kids cases, if you are a person who "needs" to win, it will not make you happy. Winning may make you feel happy if you are upset, but if you are very competitive, in the long run it will make you miserable. Do you really care that much about winning to literary drop everything; other activities, friends, school, and family. For everybody's health and happiness, winning is NOT everything and people should stop caring so much.=