The Medal

Basketball. 

Kai sat on the bench, his elbows against his knees as Team U.S.A. celebrated their victory. He held it in his hand, staring at the silver medal as the muffled cheers of the crowd echoed in his mind. His teammates were disappointed, but they also celebrated. 

They have never even expected to get to the semi-finals, much less get the silver medal in the Global Games. 

However, Kai kept thinking. 

Life was a lot like a basketball. It goes up and down, rolling unpredictably. Sometimes it's in your hands, and other times it's someone else's. You dribble, you pass, you shoot, and you hope to score.

Yet, no matter how hard you try, you don't always win.

It's overwhelming, isn't it? That feeling of inadequacy. That constant questioning—why didn't I jump higher? Why didn't I run faster? Why didn't I do more? 

But then, a realization sneaks in. The ball is round. It spins and it bounces. What goes down eventually comes back up.