this is gonna be fun... and long... but fun, and good

ok, this post is going to be interesting... i am really excited about writing this, and it may be a little less than interesting for some, but that's ok.
so today was league finals (individual matches, not as a team) at the home depot center, and although a got a bit of a bummer draw, i was a little nervous but ready to play (maybe a little too ready? it's confusing). anyway, i lost. i lost 1-8 in fact (8-game pro set), and yes i was very very upset about it, and yes it was obvious that i was upset about it. i had an off set and was all over the place in the mental aspect of the game... well, and the physical part of the game too :) now that may surprise you... no, not the the fact that my game was all over the place... the fact that i just put a smiley face there... especially there. this is what i am excited about.
ok, so after the match, i wasn't only upset about the whole losing thing, but i knew that this set was going to be hanging over my head for a long time (kind of like it did with my first time playing tiana) and i hated that feeling... you know, where just a slight reminder or thought of the match makes you wanna cry. i knew it was going to last for days. and for the rest of the time at the home depot center and on the bus ride home, i was right.
however, when we got back, instead of just holding that match in and going home (there's a story about that coming up), i talked it out. in the process of doing so, i got some frustration out. yet, it soon shifted to lessons that needed to be learned and reminders of the more important things.
so here's the good part. i will let you in on what i learned and remembered tonight and what has caused me to make a little change on how i am looking back on today's match. i'm not going to get really specific, but here goes it.
haha, now that i am finally to the good part, i am having a hard time puting it to words :)
first... humility--need i say much more? :) next... i realized that now that the individual aspect of this season is over, i can lose all the pressure i have been placing on myself, causing me to be excited for our team cif match where i can just play relaxed. also... God is good. this was a huge reminder. with so much going on lately, i hadn't really been paying attention to how God has been so good. i am blessed to be saying that life is good.
so, first the lessons learned and the getting excited about team cif helped me to get over today's match and put it behind me. then remembering God put me in a good mood... took away the bummed-outness i was in. realizing that made me even happier because it showed me how God helps with the little things (like losing a match) we dont tend to take to Him. remember: nothing is too big for God, and in the same way, nothing is too little :)
now to put an end to this long post, i will conclude :)
i got over this match a whole lot faster than i thought i would (praise God) and i have officially left it all on the court... actually, most of it... i am going to take what i learned and remembered today with me, but i will leave the rest of it behind.

oh, quickly, the story about coming home.
when i come home after losing a rough match, my parents (and pretty much anyone i come in contact with) have learned that i tend to come home in a bad mood and don't like to talk... i just eat, shower and sleep. so when i walked in the front door, it was quiet and my parents said a quick "hello" and then let me be. but it was funny to see their face (even thought they may not even know they made one) when i said a chippery "hello" back and was smiling, even talking. they were probably wondering if i really had lost and were likely really confused :)

okay, so that is the end.
i have homework to do... more than i planned... gotta go!

:)