Confidence, a key characteristic in many successful figures. Ask anyone who knows me well, self-confidence is something I severely lack. I can never seem to muster up the courage to have faith in myself. Iheard the moral in too many stories to count, but in order for me to realize its importance, I had to personally experience its value.

I had never been naturally athletic, and seeing others simply "PWN" on their first shot at something new only furthered my discouragement. That is until I hit water polo, where it seemed like all the sports I had previously played all came together. The physical contact of basketball, the speed of swimming, and a throwing arm of softball. That tiny spark I had began to grow, but it still wasn't enough.

I would constantly hear my coach and my mom tell me that "it was [my] shot to take." I would tell my coach I would try next time, and argue with my mom that it was too risky. But deep down I knew that I should've shot the ball, but I didn't have faith within myself.

More and more I let opportunities pass me up. And with each one lost, I grew more frustrated with myself. One day I just had it, so I took more risks and attempted to make more goals. My confidence grew, I came to realize that my arem was as strong as my teamates said. And then came the Cresenta Valley game.

Even though it was a practice game, our team really wanted to win. It was tied, nine to nine, overtime, sudden death. Though they had won the sprint, we got the ball back. Our first possession, and I happened to be at half court when my team-mate passed me the ball. Though I was far out, I had no one guarding me and I saw an openning their goalie left open. Without second guessing, I took the shot. I built the confidence to take the risk and have faith in myself. I made the winning goal. Winning that game, being congratulated by multiple people, it finally sank in that I need to believe in myself, otherwise I would miss out on these memorable moments.