The Three C's by Jamie

The Three C's by Jamie - July 2016 Scholarship Essay

The most important lesson I learned came from an eighth grade English teacher everyone called Mr. H. The lesson Mr. H taught me wasn’t about grammar or parts of a sentence, it was about life. I didn’t know it at the time but for the rest of my life three words would stay with me and find their way into my head when I ever a faced a challenge or adversity. Courage, commitment, compete- he called them the Three C’s and proudly chanted them at the middle school National Academic League that he coached and I was in. Maybe I joined out of recruitment or maybe my own academic passion but regardless of the reason I had ended up in the club I never imagined it having the impact on me that it did. NAL was more than studying up on random facts and practicing public speaking. It was about going head to head with smart (and often smarter) students than you. It was showing the best of the best that you were the best of the best. With all the hard work and time spent preparing for a tournament emotion often ran high. Some of us would be discouraged as soon as we learned who our competitors would be, often bigger schools with larger teams and better academics offered than ours. I remember vividly whispering among my team mates, everyone sure of our pending defeat. It was easy to give up without even trying but then Mr. H would come around to us, see the worry in our eyes, the knots forming in our stomachs. “Hey!” He’d snap, “Don’t let these guys scare you. Keep studying, we can do this!” It always amazed us the conviction he could carry in his voice. We’d quickly get back to it, not wanting to let him down. He believed in us so much we felt like we couldn’t just through in the towel, no matter how badly we wanted to.

There are four quarters of an NAL tournament. Three of the rounds positioned a line of students behind buzzers eager to be the first to ring in their answers. It was a hot seat to be in to say the least. The breathing along with each pen and pencil stroke of those around you could be heard. Quiet whispers begging answers to come back into memory and nervous shuffles would hang throughout the air. Then there would be a nervous look. I hesitant hand would slowly inch toward the button, eyes twitching and searching for an ounce of certainty but only to be out moved by the other team. This is called second-guessing yourself and Mr. H worked hard to break us of the habit. “Don’t over think it. Go with your gut!” He was right every time. On any given tournament day a certain stiffness would sometimes arise among us and our components in the room. We could swear up and down that we saw a dirty look, heard a mean whisper or joke told about us. Naturally as children we would want to taunt them back, throw a paper ball or make up some silly song about them losing. That’s what we wanted to do but if ever a thing like that came from our team there would be punishments. Mr. H could smell out foolishness from across the room and then he’d come swooping in, “Get your acts together!” He’d scorn. “Don’t be a fool.” That was his favorite phrase to say. Sometimes we would try to plead our innocence in the whole thing, giving him the old they-started-it-first story. That never worked with him, he made us know that there were no excuses to acting out of character. “Treat people how you want to be treated,” he’d say in a stern tone causing us to quiet in our seats and let the words linger through our young minds.

There wasn’t a tournament we had where we didn’t say the three C’s. Sometimes we’d chant it on the bus to a game; often it was mumbled inwardly when we needed hope. Almost six years later after being in NAL I still remember Mr. H. Not for the great English lessons he gave in class but for those lessons about people, who we were as individuals and life. At the end of the season my small league from Woodhome Elementary/Middle School won an award for our sportsmanship. Even though that was the only thing we won that year we none the less erupted in cheers over our small victory which may have been the sweetest of them all because unlike the other ribbons and trophies that had been given, that one was an acknowledgment of the character, commitment and competitive ethics we all possessed. In life we face different problems and meet a lot of people who may not always play fair or treat us with respected. I have experienced much of that as I’ve matured and still sometimes I think of how easy it would be for me to stoop to low levels or just give up but I know that’s not my who I am or what I want to stand for. Mr. H showed me that when you’re a good person to yourself and to other people you will be rewarded and that reward is guaranteed to feel better than any first place gold medal.