Suddenly my coach ran up to me and picked me up， yelling， “You did it. Manuel！ Manuel， you finished， son. You finished！ ”He looked me straight in the eyes， waving a piece of paper in his hand. It was my goal for the day， which I had forgotten. I had given it to him before class. He read it aloud to everyone. It simply said， “I， Manuel Diotte， will finish the mile run tomorrow， come what may. No pain or frustration will stop me. For I am more than capable of finishing， and with God as my strength， I will finish.” Signed， Manuel Diotte —with a little smiling face inside the D， as I always sign my name. My heart lifted. My tears went away， and I had a smile on my face as if I had eaten a banana. My classmates applauded and gave me my first standing ovation. It was then I realized winning isn’t always finishing first. Sometimes winning is just finishing.