With the Olympics having recently come to a close, one story stood out to me specifically. It was that of Abbey D'Agostino and Nikki Hamblin. If you haven't seen the clips on the news or read about the story; D'Agostino, of the United States, and Nikki Hamblin, of New Zealand, collided with one another during the women's 5000 meter qualifier, sending one another to the ground. What happened next was an excellent demonstration in perseverance, kindness, and human compassion. D'Agostino helped Hamblin up and the two finished the race.

We have seen this on multiple occasions. For instance, during the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona when Great Britain's Derek Redmond snapped his hamstring during a race. Derek's father came on the track and helped him finish the race. This has served as an inspiration to millions of people and continues to inspire, especially regarding what happened in Rio.

A similar event was even depicted at the end of Pixar's "Cars." In this movie the main character turns around during the final race to help "the king" who had previously crashed finish his last race.

Seeing the news this week really got me thinking. Why must we finish the race? Why do we feel the need to finish what we start even if it didn't end up how we planned? I honestly don't understand fully but I think it has to something to do with us as human beings.

As a society, as citizens of the world, we have a tendency to keep going and never quit. It's almost as if quitting is one of the most deplorable things we can do. I think this has more to do with our own integrity than how others view of us. We work so hard on something to the point that when it is taken away, we have to keep going to prove to ourselves that all that work wasn't for nothing.

I also think this has to do with our love for underdogs and accomplishing the impossible- from David and Goliath to the 1980's winter Olympics Miracle on Ice. However, when all hope is lost and there is no way to win in the way we wanted we still have an urge to keep going because we have to finish what we started. In that way we prove to ourselves that we may have been beaten, but we pushed through and finished when at one point it seemed impossible.

With that I encourage you to keep going. Whether it be in school, work, sports, or life. Everything is worth fighting for. For those who quit may never have believed in the first place. You just may accomplish something great or in Abbey D'Agostino and Nikki Hamblin's case show the world what true humanity and perseverance is all about. When all hope is lost, when you can go no further, don't quit- finish the race. PR