I believe in the saying “Endurance is strength. ” It means that to keep on doing something requires great effort and the things that are built up will become strengths. Someone once said to me that to keep on doing something looks easy but is actually very hard. It is also a fact that not a single portion of your effort goes waste. This doesn’t stop at studying, but extends to everything that will happen in our lives. These words stuck inside my mind and I think they are the encouragement I need to have a lot of great experiences and succeed in my life.
To start with, I felt the first example of endurance being needed when I was participating in club activities. I was a part of the soccer club when I was in middle school, and since I didn’t have experience playing soccer before, I was far from being a regular. However, I made rules of my own which I stuck with for the three years I was in the club. They were, always participate in practice and to never walk during timed runs and get 1st place if I could (long-distance marathons with a time limit). When I continued with that, on my 3rd year, I was able to play as a regular player and won the city match, moving on to place 3rd in the regional tournament. My running also bore fruit, and I was able to win the city marathon, win the section award, and receive 6th place in the regional tournament. I also got first place on my 3rd year in the school marathon. I really felt that all the running I did became a part of me and that nothing went to waste.
For the first two years of my high school life, I cared very little about my studies and ignored much of the things I had to study. However, on my third year I started thinking about my future courses. The environment around me changing also had a pretty big impact on me. I made rules for myself on my third year. They were, don’t fall asleep during class, and don’t play games during class. I know what you’re thinking. That’s normal, and not even very high a standard. You’ve obviously never been to the classes of the Keio high schools. But enough with that. All I had to do was keep this up for the school year, and with only that, I had one of the highest grades in my grade and got into the faculty I wanted to. This might not be the only reason why my grades skyrocketed, but it definitely had a positive impact.
Lastly, a famous rugby coach once said that “those who win are those who don’t make a habit of running (away)”. A habit of running away points to the times when you think, I don’t have to do this today since I’m always doing it, or maybe I can do it later. Human kind is made to go the easy way. When you run once, there’s always going to be that possibility in your head. This is the hardest part about endurance, but only by enduring can we really become the winners.
For the above reasons, I think endurance really becomes your strength and could be the step you need to move forward to your dreams. I listed clubs and learning, but your endurance doesn’t have to be about that. But whenever you’re doing something, anything, and you feel like giving up, remember these words, grit your teeth, continue.