"Failing to prepare is preparing to fail"

Nathan, 18

Over of the past few months, I have been preparing for this trip of a lifetime. For example, I have been pay more attention in Spanish class so I can somewhat communicate with the indigenous while traveling there. Other things that I have been done are pushing myself in everything I do. In my academics I have been pushing myself to do the best that I can. Knowing that I can push myself in my academics will help me be able to push through the mental aspect of the trip. I have been preparing physically by continuing to play hockey. While playing hockey I always have to push myself to new heights to become a better player, with this happening I know I can put my body up against anything even if I do fail. If I fail I know that, that will make me stronger in the future. A couple of sayings that I have been keeping in the back of my head are “failing to prepare is preparing to fail”, and “doing the best you can do is victory, doing less is defeat”. These quotes help me stay motivated and on track because they mean so much to me. I know that I am going to make mistakes while doing work, or anything else while in Costa Rica, I do it all the time while playing hockey, but it only makes me do better the next time.