Final Podcast Draft

I believe in challenges, and the value of challenges. Challenges can range from big to small, from curing the common cold to figuring out what “x” equals in your last Algebra problem. Through life, I have had my fair share of challenges, but the reward I receive after completing the challenge is always the sweeter for the difficulty I had getting it.
Let me start with a small example. I greatly enjoy video games, and if for no other reason it is that they challenge me. Such was the case in "Call of Duty 4", a war shooting game I received just this past Christmas. After going through it the first time in a matter of hours, I decided to play on “Veteran” difficulty, which is one of the greatest challenges a video game connoisseur could hope for. After a good 2 or 3 weeks of “hard work,” I got stuck. It annoyed me immensely, and I was feeling quite hopeless by the 20th or 21st try. It was at this point, I regret to admit, I allowed this challenge to best me. Then, just a few months ago, I went back and was determined to finish what I'd started. It was not long after I resolved to win that I finally managed to get past where I was stuck. However insignificant beating a video game may seem to most, getting through this very difficult challenge made me feel ecstatic, like I had earned the credits now rolling across my screen.
There are also much more significant examples, such as the entirety of my AP Chemistry class. I skated by in advanced chemistry like an expert Olympic figure skater, doing next to nothing and still managing A's. However, this all changed when I fully delved into AP Chemistry-and I was more excited than I had been in a long time. After the very first assignment I thought to myself: "This is going to push me to my academic limits." And it did. I knew from the first day that it would challenge me, and I spent that entire semester working and thinking like I had never had to before. As the semester ended, I looked upon my report card to see I received a (high) B in the class, the first time I had ever gotten a B in a class. However, the class actually made me think, and I was happier with this B than all of the A's I'd ever gotten combined.
Challenges present themselves everyday, and I love to take on any and all that I have time for. I can't even think of the last time I saw or heard a challenge that I wasn't inherently drawn to. I just can't ignore them (then again, perhaps I should challenge myself to ignore one sometime, that would be a good one). I don't think I'll ever stop seeking them out, because when I complete a challenge, my sense of victory is a great feeling.