Outcome #1: Strength and Growth Outcome #2: Challenges and Skills Outcome #4: Perseverance and Commitment This July break could be considered out of the ordinary. Instead of waking up at 10 am and binge-watching my favorite Netflix shows, I was up at 7 am everyday (including Sundays) to get to debate trainings on time. Before the break, I had been selected to represent Peru in the Worlds Debating Championship (WSDC) in Bali, Indonesia. Being part of the team meant more than an amazing trip to a tropical paradise--it meant hard preparation, intense case-building, and naturally lots of debating. During the first week of trainings, I dreaded going to trainings, mainly because the other kids who had been selected were very experienced. And I’m not exaggerating when I say they were very experienced: it was going to be their 4th time going to WSDC and earlier in March they had won a Harvard Invitational Debating Tournament. Although they were very good friends of mine, I still felt embarrassed and completely humiliated every time we had to debate against them. However, as the weeks progressed, I started focusing on my own growth instead of the outcome of the debates and what my friends would think of me. After all, although we competed during trainings, we were still on the same team for the real deal. And it started working: slowly, I did start noticing that I could refute their arguments more thoroughly, and could come up with arguments quicker during prep time. I wasn’t an expert or anywhere close of matching my friends, but it was progressed, and that was what mattered. The perseverance that all of us put into this tournament did pay off. We classified 1st in the preliminary rounds--we were actually the first team from a developing country to classify first. And even though we got eliminated in the Quarterfinals against a very strong USA team, we all felt extremely proud of how far we had come. This experienced showed me that it’s more important to focus on your own growth rather than on the outcome. When you focus only on the process, the rest will come naturally.
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Outcome #3: Initiative Planning
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