Summary

“It’s Perfectly OK to Not Always Be Perfect” by Sarah Persinger starts with the writer, who recounts her last gymnastic performance, which was a failure. After years of hard work and training, at the last competition that the writer attended, she already knew that her team would not enter the finals.

When she went on the floor to present her routine, she wanted to be the best but made a mistake early on due to the pressure she felt. In her mind, she criticized and mocked her own performance, pressuring herself to do better. At the end of her routine, the writer waited for her results with tears in her eyes.

Now, the gymnast realizes that she is responsible for her failures. She recounts how as a first-year student-athlete she did not consider herself good enough because she wanted to be the best, and how she had to learn to accept contributing to the team’s success but not being the best athlete...