By definition, competition is the activity or condition of competing. Competition plays a very large role in my life. Due to my participation in sports and other activities, competition is always present, both on and off the field. Competition is something that my life revolves around. Yes, I want to win, but I also want to have fun because the way I see it, you can’t win if you aren't having fun. I compete in most of the things that I do. Sometimes when I compete, it is not even for public recognition or a prize, it is just for my own personal recognition. Winning in a sport or achieving academic greatness is the best feeling. Competition is something that keeps us all going. Life would be too easy without competition, whether competing for a job, a position on a team, or a good old sibling/friend rivalry. Competition drives me to greatness. Without competition, the effort, hard work, and grit would not be present in many people today. Although competitivity, the ability to compete, can be healthy and positive, it can also be negative. Competitiveness can be turned negative when people become over-competitive. Becoming over-competitive is usually a result from caring too much and holding onto the little mistakes and screw-ups in one's career. In my life, competition and competitivity play a role on the sports field, in academics, and with my sibling.

Competition is present and plays a role in life when I am running, playing soccer, or playing baseball. Playing on a sports team is a highlight of childhood. Playing rec. was fun and enjoyable, but playing “travel” was a true honor and it received added recognition. Being competitive in sports is a given. To get play-time, one must be competitive and sometimes be relentless on the field. Although playing travel baseball and soccer through elementary school and middle school seemed like a competitive environment, it was nothing like playing high school sports. High school sports bring a whole-new level of intensity, passion, players, and most importantly, competition. To get a starting spot on a team or play in general, beating your friends and fellow classmates is often necessary. It may not feel great, but it is vital if one wants to be successful in high school athletics. I have had to be competitive when playing soccer and baseball. For soccer, we have to run around the track mid-August and perform in a plethora of various distances. We needed to run a 13-minute 2 mile and a 3.5-minute half-mile. My first practice run over the summer was a disaster. I had been almost 3 minutes off the 2 mile time and a minute off the half mile. I ran and trained with friends. I was around the middle of the pack when training with them. Many of the times when we had got together to train, we ended up doing one lap, and then getting pancakes at Abby’s diner. It was unproductive and I knew it. I went on a few runs myself but time slipped away and I was left unsatisfied before the runs. A week and a half before we had the running trials, my family and I went on vacation. During this vacation, I totally slacked and didn’t run or train at all. Pretty soon, there was a week before the tryouts and I was still minutes over each of the needed times. It was at this moment that I had decided to change my mentality and competitiveness within me. I knew that I had to run well to make the team, but I also wanted to run well to beat my friends and prove a point that I was there to compete. I wanted to prove people wrong, because I was not always perceived as being a “fast” kid. Starting a week before, I was driven to the Ramapo track alone, and ran the distances while timing myself each day. After my runs, I would go onto the field, place cones on the turf, and do footwork drills. I was motivated and filled with competitiveness. I even ran the day before the tryouts - for an extra edge over my opponents. The day came when we needed to run and I performed magnificently. As I ran, adrenaline and competitivity pumped through my veins as I passed kids, one by one. For each of the time-trials, I got well under the needed times, and finished was second overall, among approximately 40 boys, in each of the runs. I felt great. My hard work paid off. The results of my competitivity and competitiveness were phenomenal. Competitivity and a strive for greatness drove this success on the field.
Competitivity is also present and plays a role in my life in academics. When entering high school, I knew it would be tough and super competitive. Most kids are in it for themselves - which is often how life is. Every kid knows that he/she may be fighting for the same spot in a college in a few years. When the application begins, competitivity rises insanely between students. Getting the best grades and obtaining the best GPA is super important to so many students. High school is not the time to slack off and relax. These grades and these few years before college are some of the most important in one’s life, because they decide one’s career and/or future. I have seen and heard first-hand about some of the intense competitiveness juniors and seniors. My sister is a senior and she has confirmed that many people want admission into the same schools, so getting an early lead and being competitive for grades is a smart and perfectly normal thing to do. The power is all in the student’s hands. In this case, I have tried to be competitive so far throughout my high school career, but not to the extreme. My competitiveness is healthy and not ridiculous like some others in our highly intelligent freshman class. The results of my competitivity have not yet been fully fulfilled, for I am not into the college application process yet. Once I approach the time in my life where I am learning about acceptances into colleges, the results of my competitivity will be more clear. Competitivity in academics are a key point of interest in my life at the moment.

Apart from the loving sibling relationship I have with my sister, we both also compete with each other. We compete against each other in most things we do. It is not always purposeful to compete, but it just happens - usually. All kids who have siblings can relate to some level of competitivity and competitiveness. We compete over the stupid things most of the time. We just want to have the title of being better at something than the other. I especially feel satisfied with being better at something and then rubbing it in my older sisters face. We each have a certain pride in certain talents and skills and we both make it clear to the other. In the end though, we both know that none of it matters and most of the time we disregard the other’s confirmation of their greatness. Like stated before, I believe, we have a very normal sibling relationship. I can confirm this through interviews with certain classmates with siblings too. This sibling competition is present from when we were little kids, and it will continue through old age - probably. It is true with my father and mothers and their siblings at least. The adult easter-egg hunts are always insanely competitive for some reason. Obviously, the results of competition with my sister are nothing bad and nothing good. The results of the competition can cause slight tension sometimes, but it is all fun and games in the end. Competitivity with my sibling plays a fairly small part in my life because of it’s standardness in all relationships and also the miniscule amount of problems it causes. It is always present though!

In conclusion, competition is a rivalry between two things. Through competition, animals and people evolve. From the creation of man, competition has driven change in our world today. Competition controls economics and the political system in our world today. Competition plays a huge role in my life, because it drives me to achieve greatness and being my best. My competition results in many positive and negative outcomes. The outcomes depend on the level of competition and also who they are with or against. Competition is vital for success in one’s life. If one does not choose to compete in life, he/she will not progress in the social chain. Do you want to be successful? Work at it to be your very best. The sacrifice is high, but the rewards are great.