Three close matches passed, and I lost. My brother gloated as any brother would as we left to go to lunch. I can still hear him say, “Why do you play tennis if you're so bad?” My loss annoyed me so much that I spent the rest of the vacation practicing and even after. Although it was painful, I realized that my competition with my brother helped me to improve.

After all my practice my brother and I were going to face off again. We decided to have a rematch. I was warmed up and ready to play after preparing myself mentally and physically for days. We spun and racquet for serve and he won. I broke his serve and won every point in the first game. 1-0. Then it was my turn to serve. 2-0. The first set went by at light speed. 6-0. The second set he rallied back. 0-3. But, I knew my drive to win was greater than his, so I worked hard on every point. 1-3. 2-3. 3-3. 4-3. I could tell he was frustrated, so I used that against him. 6-4. I had won. 

In 5th grade, my brother was able to join boy scouts. He had a head start due to his three years on me. This frustrated me because I didn’t have the same chances that he did. He used it to his advantage rising through the ranks quickly. When I joined in 5th grade I hit the ground running. I achieved three of the four ranks that he had in less than a few months. We both worked hard to beat the other, coming to the conclusion of my brother finishing his eagle scout before I was able to catch up. Even worse, I had to help with the project. Finally had to admit the inevitable. My brother had beaten me again. However, what I didn't realize at the time was, in my attempt to beat him, I had actually driven myself to be better than I ever could have otherwise.

Throughout my life I have had competition to better myself and my brother. This is why I would thrive at the University of Wisconsin Madison. The competitive spirit of the big ten emulates my life experiences and goals. I fit in with competitive environments, I will fit in at Madison.