Impossible to conquer, dragons remain elusive unless an epic hero emerges to slay the terrifying beast. In my life the one dragon that has always threatened me, egotism and overconfidence, has often led me to failure.
During the fall of 2013, our Varsity golf team defended our state championship title at Mission Inn Golf Resort in Howie-in-the-Hills, Florida. Our team, fresh from a 27 stroke victory at the Florida High School State Championship the year before, over confidently approached the tournament with nonchalance. Therefore, all of us, including me, did not take practice very seriously. As a matter of fact, we discussed the design of our state championship rings for this year. Alas, “the best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry;” we lost by two strokes. This “dragon” of overconfidence grasped us with its piercing talons, and stomped us into the murky, gloomy world of losers.
Because I bogied my last three holes of the tournament, our team lost. If I had parred, we would have won.…show more content… From that day on, I will always remember the moment of my failure, and I never want to feel that emptiness again. I vowed to always take practice seriously, become physically and mentally ready, and stay humble. By perfecting these fundamentals, my game steadily improved, and I developed the ability to accomplish my goals, not only in the game of golf, but also in the game of life. Every time I achieved success, my dragon slowly crept toward his lair of despair. “This dragon” kept trying to return, but my determination kept him at bay. My attitude toward school also improved; instead of procrastination, I now put more effort into my studies. With each grade improvement, my “dragon” slithered deeper toward its cave. No longer does this “dragon” (overconfidence) control my fate, but over preparation