Wrestling in a very competitive sport. I have been wrestling since the young age of four years old. As you could imagine I have had to prove my worth and had to live through the warrior archetype described by Dr. Carol S. Pearson in chapter 4 of her book The Hero Within. While doing this I have had to stand my ground, demand respect and even had the privilege to celebrate excellence. I grew up in the southern Minnesota town of Owatonna, where wrestling is a very big sport. We have won the state tournament multiple times and have even been ranked in the top ten in the nation more then once. So as a eighth grader being brought up to wrestle with the junior varsity and varsity team I had to stand my ground. In this spot I would be wrestling some of the best wrestlers in the state, some of them being right there in practice with me. I had to work really hard to get a spot and to even be there. Every single day, condition, practice and even cut weight. I had to work as hard as I could to prove my worth being one of the youngest ones in the room.
Another part of being the youngest one there and proving my worth to all of the older wrestlers and my coaches was to demand respect. The best way I found to do this was to give an unlimited amount of respect to each and every one of them. If I didn't give respect and receive it from all of them I wouldn't have made it through that year. The respect I did get, like Dr. Pearson says, gave me a sense of pride and dignity. Dr. Pearson also talks about beating your competitors. I couldn't beat everyone at my weight in the wrestling room but I was able to beat enough of them to earn a junior varsity spot. It was a good fight with all of them but I proved my worth as being one of the youngest ones there by demanding respect and earning myself a spot on the team.
The third thing that stuck out to me in the chapter about the archetype the Warrior was celebrating excellence.
