1 . When I was in elementary school, I entered an Easter card design contest. The_______ was supposed to get 200 dollars as a reward and his or her design would be made into an actual Easter_______. I was so _______ that I didn't even realize I never got the dollars _______to me by the game organizer or _______ my card in stores. It was _______ but I was just happy to have won such a contest, my first one in effect. _______, I really enjoyed making the card, so_______ weren't that important. I realize that playing to win will always leave me feeling empty. Life is a lot more_______ if we play games for fun rather than victory.

Later on, I entered another contest. All I had to do was color a picture. This was what I loved to do: display my __________ in something others could enjoy. Luck __________ me, and I managed to win once more. When I saw the prize, a pair of paper glasses, I thought it was the coolest thing in the world. __________, if I were to find those same glasses now, I would think they counted for nothing.

Then, I started to enter contests with no prize, such as the lottery. I no longer minded__________ because the event itself was meaningful. The key to happiness is to put less thought into the__________ but more focus on making the journey unforgettable.

       In most of my experiences, the results didn't__________ my expectations because I idealized them. I just need to remember what my earliest contests have__________ me. Now my goal is to enter college, but I am not striving for good grades so that I can gain __________. Education is about learning, not just a necessary __________ to the next stage in my life. I'm studying hard __________ I' m eager to learn, and the__________ follow. I'll do my best to make college worth the struggle it requires.