<p>“White blood cells.” I said interrupting the moderator’s question in front 200 people at the Hawaii Regional Science Bowl. “Incorrect.” As the only junior on the team, I had cost them four points and gave the other team unlimited time to answer the question, not to mention feeling red in front of students, coaches, and parents. The correct answer was “phagocytic white blood cells.”
I was so close, yet so far. Up until that point in the competition, I answered questions conservatively, avoiding the penalties of an incorrect interrupt. But I soon realized that the experience of risk-taking was completely necessary when facing a school that was much bigger that our’s. We could not be the underdogs and expect to win by playing it safe. Taking those risks of interrupting would give us the chance to vault ahead of our opponent. With risk taking though, we also needed to have discernment in when to interrupt and when to play it safe. Interrupting with a big lead and no clue of the answer is surely imprudent, but in a close game and an educated guess, that is where the risk will lead to a substantial reward. Later in the match I interrupted: “Hypothalamus.” This time, to my delight, it was correct. Along with discernment, I learned the value of pressure.
In the moment between my buzzing and the moderator’s call, there was pressure to answer correctly, or else subtract points from my team. This pressure caused some distress, but my mind adapted to the pressure and searched for information more quickly. The instant I buzzed in, I may have not known the answer, but in the fifteen seconds given to answer, I could eventually come up with the correct answer.<br>
With an interest in health, I answered a substantial amount of the biological sciences questions, albeit without interrupting. But as the competition progressed, I had to develop the confidence in my own knowledge and interrupt when I could. I could get by without interrupting against the beginner teams, but against the more advanced teams, I definitely had to take risks and try to seize the points for my team before the opponent could.
Although just a regional science trivia quiz competition, science bowl has unveiled to me various important life qualities. Life is full of questions, but sometimes we just have to risk it and interrupt. </p>