Your 7 now, you feel invincible, and so motivated, that nothing is impossible. Then your 5 feet above ground hanging on for dear life. Your hands are being blistered, and the only place you wanna look is up. And yet, you look down, and you’re a million feet above the ground. Your light up sketchers aren’t gripping enough, your hand is slipping.
Your disappointed, you pushed off the wall and glided down. You didn’t get to the top, you watch your older cousins climb up the wall easily. You’ll get them next year, you’ll be bigger, stronger, smarter.
Your 8 now, you’ve ditched your ponytails for a French braid. You’ve made it a little farther, and your far ahead your little brother. You giggle thinking of how tough you thought you were a year before. Gripping the next plastic stone you hoist yourself up another foot. You can feel the height without looking down. You look toward your 5 year old brother, he has already given up, it’s time for you to give up too.
once again you watch your cousins climb to the top and glide down easily. Your not sad, you know you’ll do it next year.

Your 9, your sketchers have been replaced by metallic adidas. You have proceeded to get much higher this time, and your 3 year old sister is watching in awe. You know you can do it, your 9 now!
You’ve failed for the last time, your not going to watch your cousins go up again, your going to be with them. No more “next year I’ll do it,”

You take a deep breath and dry your sweaty hands on your jean shorts. You tighten your ponytail. Your cousin who’s 7 months younger than you glances your way…

“I’ll race ya,” you say. She nods in agreement…

“3……2…….1.” You climb as fast and as high as you can. Your slipping! Every memory of failing flashes over you. Realization floods over you. Your pathetic. Your a failure. She’s ahead isn’t she… WAIT!

You snap out of the trance of your failure. Glancing over at your cousin, she’s a foot behind. Reassured your back to climbing your hardest. And there it is, the bell is right there, waiting to be rung.

This ring stays in the back of my mind. Whenever I’m close to giving up, it reminds me of an accomplishment, when I was that close to giving up, but I kept going anyway. After all, things take time, whether your perfecting your cursive, or working to be a switch hitter. There’s always something.