My December to Remember 3: Day Seventeen
News: New polls show Trump trumping everyone in all categories beats Biden in hypothetical matchup. Even Nikki Haley beats Biden in a hypothetical matchup.
Poll shows 18-24 year olds think Israel should be disbanded and given to Hamas.
DeSantis PAC chief strategist leaves campaign.
I’ve been on the winning team a lot in my life. I’ve also been on the losing team a lot. But whatever losses I take, it all just feels like the smaller battles that predate the incoming war. Unfortunately for me, I feel as though I’ve been experiencing more losses than wins lately, as those in charge are simply on the opposite side of everything I hold dear. But maybe I shouldn’t use the word “opposite.” Just incorrect. The side that isn’t going to lead everyone into prosperity, just a select few. And that’s not a side I want to be on. However, just once, I want a fight where the odds are stacked evenly, only for the victor to emerge after fairly winning it.
Back in high school, our fencing team began when I was a sophomore. By the time I graduated, we were among the top three teams in New Jersey. We didn’t get to eke out the overall championship at states, but that didn’t even matter to me. We were a force to be reckoned with. I was beating damn near every girl I faced. Some of the time, it wasn’t even a competition. I wasn’t a jerk about it, but I wasn’t going to let anyone win that wasn’t better than me. There were a few girls who I didn’t so handily beat, but our team was on a tear from the moment we first formed. So when it came down to my team and the other top-ranked team both vying for first place, the competition was as fierce as anything could get.
We were the away team that night, the second-seeded team facing off against the first on their home turf. Although I wasn’t so sure we could actually pull this off, I was ready to help bring the team to victory. I won all three of my matches, though my other two sabre teammates didn’t win any of theirs. It was okay, our sabre squad was the weakest out of the three. But those six losses had a major effect on the rest of the team, even as I tried to coach my squadmates to victory, giving them all the tips in the world on how to beat the other girls.
The competition was tight, and it was coming down to the wire. Matches are three rounds of sabre, foil, and epee bouts, three bouts a piece. So it’s a race for who gets to fourteen wins first. We were in our final round of epee. They were up on us 13 bouts to 11. I had been cheering my absolute butt off the entire night, seeing how close we were getting to clinching it out, having the dream of holding the trophy up over our heads. Unfortunately, our first epee fencer lost the five-touch match, giving victory to the other team. The final score for the entire tournament was 15 to 12. I was incredibly disappointed but didn’t blame anyone. We did our best, it was a fair fight, and we fell. As I was hugging my mother and trying not to cry, she informed me that my acceptance letter had arrived in the mail earlier that day, and I was going to Northwestern University in the fall. So there was a lost battle, but an overall win anyway.
This may sound a little exaggerated, but I can’t remember another time after that night that’s ever been as close a competition as that. I can’t count college matches, as we were a girls-only team and had no chance to win an overall collegiate championship, since it was a combination of boys and girls team wins. Since then, I’ve either had small wins, or devastating losses. I long for the day I can actually be part of a competition where the winner really does take it all, but actually be on the side of victory this time.
There are times when I’ve been wrong, but I’ve been right about far more. And I feel like “when all this is over,” we’re really going to see who came out triumphant. Because when the right people win, we all do. Some just won’t be able to take credit for the victory to come.
2016 was the upset. Now, with two goliaths of moral turpitude ready to end things once and for all, will you be on the side of domination, or that of liberation? I know where I’m at. And I’m ready to fight in this greatest battle we’ve ever known. Because that’s how serious things are getting around here. It’s a fight for the future. For the new age. For the place we can all be free. I’ll happily step into the ring for that fight. Or the piste. It’s been a little bit, but I’ve still got those fencing skills, and all the mental acuity that came along with it. They don’t call it “Physical Chess” for nothing.
One Comment