Reaching the mountaintop!

A middle school student walks up to the podium. Her fingers are wet with perspiration. She tries to smile, but she can’t. The teacher calmly tells her that if she can spell the word “chiaroscurist,” she will win the district spelling bee. She closes her eyes and repeats the word to herself. She opens her eyes back up and promptly spells it correctly.

When the teacher nods his head in approval, the crowded auditorium breaks out into a loud cheer. Finally, the girl is able to smile. (Of course, as you all know “chiaroscurist” is an artist who uses light and shadow to create an illusion of volume and depth.)

It’s other events too. A recent grad slips a car salesman a small sticky note with her final figure. The salesman hems and haws and says that he’s not sure his manager will go for the price. She holds firm and says she’s ready to walk. The salesman takes the slip of paper back to the main office. The grad wonders if she was too aggressive. She can hear the clock on the wall tick off the seconds. Finally the salesman comes out and says, yes, it’s a steep cut, but he’ll accept the price. The grad jumps up and down and throws her hands in the air, proud of herself.

And then there was the end of last night’s Super Bowl LIX. Two years ago, Quarterback Jalen Hurts had to walk through an ocean of KC red and orange in defeat. He had played a solid game, but still came out on the losing side. Last night, he stood in the middle of the Superdome with green and white confetti coming down all around him. I couldn’t help but think about all the emotions that had to be going through his mind.

You just never know:

“Life is full of highs and lows. We need them both to grow to our fullest potential.” –Dawn Gluskin

“Life is a series of highs and lows. The trick is to tip the balance in your favor by following your heart and taking some risks.” –John Avery

“Everything I know now . . . the pitfalls, the highs and lows, everything . . . it taught me and made stronger.” –Ray Allan

“Over the years, I’ve given myself a thousand reasons to keep running, but it always comes back to where it started. It comes down to self-satisfaction and a sense of achievement.” –Steve Prefontaine

“Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall” –Attributed to Confucius

“Dream big, stay positive, work hard, and enjoy the journey.” –Urijah Faber

“You must expect great things of yourself before you can do them.” –Michael Jordan.