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disappointed faces of his coworkers. Everyone knew what winning meant.
As children, their parents would tell them all about winning International
Society Preservation Organization events. Amin, along with many people,
had simply assumed that winning was amyth, as he had never seen anyone
near his cubicle actually win before, not tomention himself. Amin stood up
from his seat and started his journey home. After all, it was customary for
winners to go home to their families before claiming their reward.
Upon entering his apartment, Amin was greeted by his family. When he
had come of age, the government had paired him with his wife and had
encouraged raising a child, only one child.
“Oh my, sweetheart. I can’t believe that you won.” she said politely, eyes
unmoving. Her face was devoid of the feelings she portrayed through her
words. Amin looked around his house, reminiscing in the same home that
he had lived in as a child, that every person on the planet had lived in as a
child. A crisp voice announcement rang throughout his house:
“All winners please report to your nearest International Society
Preservation Organization center to receive your reward.”
Amin gathered himself as he walked into the ISPO center, like the rest of
the people that had won walking in beside him. Amin entered a large room
with an observer window in the far wall. All the people around himwore his
face, a resigned face, a face completely drained of life.
“Over the course of the next few minutes, you may feel as if you can
not breath. Do not panic. This is completely normal. Thank you for your
contribution to society. Please continue to support us in the next life.”
As the oxygen slowly began to deplete, Amin wondered about themeaning
of victory. We are the winners, he thought. As black dots swam through
his vision and he started to suffocate, Amin wondered why victory was so
painful and why anyone would ever want to win.
Scott Kim
Brianna Kerr
1. When you're a rower, you're born to row and forced to study because
rowing is 6 days a week and 3 hours a day.
2. Your homework will be done 5 minutes before your class starts.
3. Your coach doesn't see studying for exams as more important than going
to practice.
4. Classmates will ask you why you have bubbly blisters on your hands. Just
respond, "Crew is life."
5. You will hyperventilate every time you hear the words "2" and "K" in the
same sentence.
6. Your crewmates will become your only friends because they understand
your pain when you do a piece on the erg, or wake up at 5:30 a.m. to get to
a Saturday practice.
7. Tan lines will become your worst nightmare: uni tans, sock tans, sports
bra tans, and stripes that never fade because you don't have time to go to
the beach.
8. Cominghomewith salt in your hair andon your legswill become a regular
thing. There's no way to avoid it.
9. Your crewmates are your worst enemies on the water and your best
friends on land. You will have stories to tell each other about catching a
crab, or flipping a boat, twice consecutively, by accident.
10. Crew is crawling off the erg after a 2K of exhaustion. Crew is saltwater
blinding you and splashing in your face. Crew is putting all into 1 race and
then doing another. Crew is flying across the water. Crew is learning that
nothing is given to you: you have to earn first place. And crew is crossing
the finish line after a 1500m race. It is being so tired your lungs are dry but
knowing you won. And you earned it.