If you had fun, you won. by Maya

If you had fun, you won. by Maya - November 2018 Scholarship Essay

My senior quote is “If you had fun, you won.” I first heard this quote when I was a sophomore. I was playing tennis and one of the senior captains on my team started telling it to us before every match. I continue to tell it to my team now that I am a senior captain because I feel that it is an important lesson not only for tennis, but for life, too.
The quote expresses that even though you are not guaranteed to win every game or match, you are still able to make the most of every moment. My love of this saying shows that am an optimist and that I am always looking for the positives, even though the positives in certain situations may be hard to come by. Being happy is much more important to a person’s well being than being a winner is. Although being competitive is important for personal growth and success, the stress caused by the strong desire to win can eliminate the fun from things that are supposed to be enjoyable. “If you had fun, you won” has the primary goal of expressing to people that they can still be having fun, even if they are losing. I find myself to be a living example of this saying as I would much rather be losing in a very challenging match against a good opponent than easily winning against someone who is not as talented.
Quotes can give a good insight as to what a person is like and what kind of attitude they have. My favorite quote, “if you had fun, you won”, shows that I exhibit a growth mindset and have a good attitude when it comes to coping with losing. Winning is not always a possibility, and learning how to enjoy a match even while losing is invaluable.