STORY OF MY LIFE!

                                     Leave it All on the Mat

Beep! Beep! Beep! The continuous sound of the phone's alarm loudly echoed in her ear. Finally, after moments of procrastination she silenced the alarm. She looked towards the blur of the screen. 4:45 am, read the screen. Groggily, the girl dragged herself out of bed and grabbed her gym bag she had packed the night before. Before, she proceeded to to make her way down the stairs she awoke her mother. After, some times had passed she enters the car feeling the cool breeze hit her skin. As she was driven down the lonely streets in the dark she could not get rid if this sense of nervousness. Perhaps, it will disappear later. At last, she reaches her destination. She gets out of the car.

"Bye mom", the girl says vaguely.

"Bye Destiny, good luck!" her mom answers.

 Destiny then continues her way to white lone van in the high school parking lot. Next, she places her gym bag in the back of the van and aboards it. 

"Morning, Garcia!", exclaimed the coach.

"Morning", she replied with sound of tiredness evident in her voice.

The vibe of the van was so negative. You would think a team going to a master's level tournament would have a positive upbeat vibe. But, no not this teams. It was like you could hear the hearts of several wrestlers pounding. The feeling of anxiety and or fear was obvious in the van. You could almost taste it. Destiny makes her way to her designated seat that she always finds comfort in.The girl's poor heart was beating furiously like a beat on the drums. She tried to find ways to distract herself. However, nothing worked. Her mouth dry craving water. Her body weak from cutting weight quickly for the tournament. And above it all hunger was not an additional help what so ever. After, what seem to be the longest tortuous ride, it finally came to end. The team exited the van making their way into the high school's gym. Destiny feeling the mist hit her face cringed her face. Destiny find a spot of the bleachers and let sleep engulf her body.

"Good Morning! All wrestlers weigh ins will begin in five minutes!", the lady's voice boomed throughout the gym.

Destiny and her teammates waited in line to get weighed in. Everyone mde weight. Step one complete. Weigh ins were over which  meant time for food. And water! even, after Destiny's thirst was replenished and her stomach was no longer growling. The feel of anxiety never once went way. Not even for one second. Several hours pass by, but do Destiny it felt like minutes. 

"121's to staging!", the announcer called into the microphone. 

Destiny's heart dropped but, in surprise her feet made her way to the entrance to the mats. She won her first match. The feeling of relief was present. Actually, a little bit of confidence followed as well. She won her second match. Then, her third. But, her fourth match, which was semi-final match to be exact, had quite different result. She had lost. But, it was not the end of her journey she would just have to win er next match to qualify for the state's tournament the following week. Shaking off the previous loss, Destiny prepared for her next match. After a longing for the the match to come, it finally arrived. It felt as if a spotlight was on this match in particular. As everyone seemed to be fixated on the Destiny's match craving to see the result. As Destiny, was the last of her teammates left in the tournament they all surrounded the barricade in anticipation to see her pull through and take another victory. Destiny made her way to the center of the mat placing her foot right on the white, thich, solid line. 

"Alright, best of luck to you both", the referee stated enthusiasm, as an attempt to relieve the tension. 

Destiny eyes were filled with pure determination and concentration which matched her opponents as equally. The match had begun. Round one, 8-9, Destiny was in the lead. Round two, 15-16, Destiny still in the lead. Anyone who was present will tell you these girls were neck to neck scoring on each other back to back. Round three, this round changed everything. 

"Destiny! Shoot!", her coach screamed.

Destiny scored a takedown putting her back in the lead, 16-17. Destiny kept control of the match for the majority of remainder of the match. Her teammates and coaches urging her on. Tens seconds left into match. Destiny could feel the victory already. Five seconds left. Destiny's opponent continuously attempted to escape her Destiny's grasp. Only achieving so at the very last second of the match. Everyone was silent. The breaths of the crowd were sucked in all at once almost in sync. Destiny was confused until, she looked over to the scoreboard. It read 18-17. Destiny's breath hitched. She felt waves of emotion but, could not seem to act upon them. She could hear the yells of her coaches contradicting the referee's call. She even heard other coaches watching trying to defend her as well. But, C.I.F. rule at a master's level no call could be overturned if the match had already concluded. At last, the referee raised her opponents arm in the air. The cheers of the crowd erupted from the people who favored Destiny's opponent. Although,  loud, the screams were faint in Destiny's ears. She could not feel anything. All her time and dedication given all gone to waste. All the hours of practice. All the blood bled. All the sweat dripping down her face. Done for what felt for nothing at all. She wanted to scream. To cry. To yell at the top of her lungs. But, nothing came out. She didn't even feel the referee grab her hand. 

"Hey, I am truly, genuinely sorry for that call", the referee spoke with a hint of guilt in his voice.

Destiny simply ripped her hand away and made her way away from the mat or the place where all her dreams were shattered and splattered across, exiting the out of the gym. Destiny could already feel the lump in her throat form, about to let out a long awaited sob but, she held it in as she heard her coach scream her name. 

"Am I not here to pity you or makes matters worse I just you want to listen", her coach explained.

Destiny with her back facing him simply nods. As she didn't want him to see her cry. She saw it as vulnerability which she hated. As the captain, she is supposed to the strong one out of the group. So, she felt crying would defeat the purpose. Although, prepared for the worse. Nothing could've prepared Destiny for what she heard next. 

"You got what you earned. You get what you earn. You think you might've been the hardest working person in the room. You think you might've done everything right. But, you get what you earned, figure it out. If you don't want it to happen again. Don't let it happen again. Figure it out", her Coach expressed then simply walked back into the gym.

Destiny lost for words and or feelings just sits back against the brick wall trying to piece everything together. She was like this all the way back home. For the next few days, and weeks. She took a break from wrestling, Trying to avoid wrestling at any means necessary. But, one night she recalled the words her coach spoke. And finally got the purpose of it all. At last, she returned to practice. No words spoken. She simply turned to her coach, who gave her  knowing smirk. From that point on, Destiny had a drive to make a comeback, if to put it simple terms. She is now ready for any obstacles to be thrown her way for the upcoming season. Perhaps, this time around she will get what she truly earns.