Do you think I can make it again?
I have had the privilege of representing my class twice in a history project held in another city.
To earn this opportunity, I had to win a class-wide history competition in both of those years.
Now, I have the chance to achieve this once again in my third year of upper secondary school.
However, in the first round of the competition, a boy achieved a perfect score—something no one had managed to do in the previous two years.
Another girl and I tied for the second-highest score. After winning a tie-breaker question against her, I now find myself in the final facing him—just as I did last year.
I can sense that he is absolutely determined to win this time, and naturally, I would be happy for him if he did—especially since I’ve already had the chance to participate twice myself. Yet, to be honest, I would also love the opportunity to defend my title once more, simply because I genuinely enjoy the project. Moreover, the final round is all about timing and speed—areas in which I excelled last year.
I know that he is now preparing for this final with intense dedication—something I am doing as well. And having made it to the final by such a narrow margin, I feel even more spurred on to pull it off in the end. How can I build healthy, positive ambition without putting too much pressure on myself?