“Anything less than your best is to sacrifice the gift.”
As a thrower in track and field, this quote is a constant reminder that my talent, my gift, is something I didn’t earn alone. I was born with strength and coordination, but over the years I’ve had coaches, teammates, and a whole community helping me sharpen that gift. And if I ever let up, I’m not just letting myself down; I’m throwing away something bigger than me.
I learned the truth of that quote during my sophomore year. Our team had just come off our first-ever track and field state championship the year before, and I knew how much my points mattered if we wanted to repeat. Expectations were high. I came into the district meet ranked at the top in both shot put and discus. I was supposed to qualify easily and make a big impact at state. But I didn’t give my best that day. I lost focus, and completely fell apart in shot put, where I didn’t even qualify. In discus, I barely scraped by, sneaking into state with a wildcard spot. I walked away from that meet not just disappointed, but I also felt like I had let my whole team down. I had sacrificed the gift by not showing up the way I knew I could.
But that moment lit a fire in me; I wasn’t okay with underperforming. I spent the week leading up to state refining my technique and preparing. I made a choice to honor the gift. And when the state championship finally came, I gave it everything. That day, I not only won my first state title, but I also broke my school’s discus record on the same throw.
That experience became a turning point in my career. The next year, I came back even better and walked away with both the shot put and discus state championships. I wasn’t the same athlete I had been before. And I never forgot what it felt like to walk away knowing I hadn’t given my all.
To me, sacrificing the gift means more than just losing a competition. It means wasting the potential I’ve been given. Now, as a three-time individual state champion, three-time team state champion and a school record holder, I carry this quote with me into every lift, rep, and meet. Because anything less than my best isn’t an option anymore.