When a silver is worth more than a gold medal

I am white belt and in my last year of Master 6. I was extremely happy when I saw the bracket Master 5 for white belt at the European Master Championship in Barcelona. I registered as an early bird and waited. No opponent registered till the last days. To my inquiry, the organizers informed me that if I would make the weight, I could stand on the top of the podium and would recieve a gold medal. However, a gold medal without a fight.

The option was to fight in Master 1. I did. I fought, I won and I lost, and I learned a lot. Finally, I won a silver medal. This silver means much more for me than a gold without a fight.