In ninth-grade, I was on the C team and my basketball coach explained to me that it was because he wanted to keep me and my sister together. However, my tenth-grade season came and I was again on the C team, while my younger sister was on the JV team. I was devastated. I had never felt like so much of a failure. My younger sister was better than me and I just wanted to quit. But, how could I give up on something I had put so many years into? Then I realized that I am not my sister and her talents are not my talents. I could contribute differently from her. So, I continued to work hard and my efforts paid off. Junior year I was starting for the JV team and it was clear that my improvements are what I truly cared…
The most memorable thing that happened to me was when I first discovered what I’m really good at. I came across inspiring Youtube videos of old classic Roller Derby and recent ones that were published only a year ago, I knew from the moment I laid eyes on those quads that I had to try it. In less than two weeks I was a complete natural at skating, I was all about skates. I practiced all the derby stances, exercises, techniques you name it I am absolutely in love with this sport. but as much as I fantasized about doing it I never thought that I’d actually get the chance to be part of their world and have training by the Derby Dames Juniors Freshmeat Association crew, which are ranked the top thirty-one in the united states!…
As a team, everyone worked their hardest to perform to the best of their abilities. Although we had our serious times, the team became the family I had desired. Unlike my birth family, this new family was considerate enough to listen to my problems and thoughts, and give me advice on what I should do with my life. Not only did I create strong bonds with my team members, but I felt my self esteem escalating. I was able to grow as a strong human being and think and speak for myself for the first time in my life. After years of being shunned by my family and bullied by my classmates, I was able to be myself and embrace who I truly am.…
As a freshman, I made the varsity volleyball team. With this position came a lot of responsibility and pressure. My teammates always looked at me as the “baby”, but they expected me to play at the same level as the seniors. I learned how to deal with difficult personalities and I learned how to commit myself to a team and a sport. I also learned that I was a role model to other teammates and young volleyball players. Just like the Pink Ranger, people looked up to me and I tried to lead by example throughout my volleyball career.…
During my senior season I slide into third base our first game of the year and jammed my shoulder. I had to go to the doctors and they said it was very inflamed and that I would have to sit out for most of the season. Being my last year in high school that news really brought me down. When I went to the next game I realized that I could not contribute on the field, but I could have a great influence on the players in and from the dugout. I cheered on my teammates at every game and during every inning until I could finally return to play at the end of the year. That experience taught me that no matter what happens there is always another way to positively impact someone, you just have to clear your mind and…
I had tried out for the Blue Guards drill team the very first week of school with many other people who wanted to be on the team as much as I did. I worked really hard to be apart of the team. Never in my life have I ever tried that hard to be apart of a wonderful opportunity. It was a weeklong process of drilling, knowledge, leadership, and discipline. This week long tryouts not only showed everyone how hard I worked for a spot on the team but I proved to myself that if I wanted something bad enough I could work my hardest and achieve it.…
Freshman year I struggled with anxiety and coping with the family issues surrounding my Grandfather with dementia. Through therapy I learned how to fight through the obstacles that stood in my way. I have not let the issues I struggled with in the past define me, but I instead let them serve as a learning experience. Additionally, sophomore and the beginning of junior year I got a job which entailed me watching two kids every day after school. This job, along with the struggles I dealt with in the previous year, limited my involvement in extracurricular activities early on in my high school…
I knew something was serious and my parents came and drove me to the hospital. At the hospital they told me my appendix was about to burst and I would have to have emergency surgery. For the next 6 weeks I was mandated to sit out as I watched my senior season slip through my fingertips. I sat at home for the first week and reflected on how my attitude should be when I come back. I came to the conclusion I was still the leader of the team and even if I wasn’t able to play, I could still lead the team and show my commitment through continuous support. It was not easy. Watching your whole school cheer on everyone else, knowing you are the game changer sitting on the sideline because of a fluke body reaction. Through all of this I learned to fight through hard times and be positive and work hard because when I was able to return, I was more than ready. In the final game I played and my first game back, I rushed for 197 yards, two touchdowns, and led the defense in tackles. I can truly say I have never been more proud of myself and not only was it because I worked hard to recover from my injury, but because I showed my teammates that I would not give up and I would stick by them and do everything possible. It was a bittersweet feeling to leave the field for my last high school football game, but it was definitely more sweet than…
One such instance in my life was when I was preparing to try out for the high school basketball team upon entering my freshman year. I was never able to make it past tryouts in my previous years due to the fact that I was overweight, out of shape, unhealthy, and terrible at basketball. So I decided that the summer before I began high school and started tryouts that I was going to get in the best possible shape I could that summer and concentrate only on improving my basketball skills and fundamentals. I was still extremely untalented and unknowledgeable of the basics of basketball and fitness so I enlisted the help of my older brother a high school track star and his best friend a high school basketball star.…
My junior year of high school I tried out for what I thought I had always wanted, Cheer Captain. I worked for hours upon hours, day and night. I toiled with my cheer binder all of Christmas break. I was determined. I knew that if I made the WSHS Cheer Captain that I would have everything in my binder.…
An event I've experienced that was life changing was when I obtained the rank of Eagle Scout from the Boy Scouts of America. It was an affirmation of years of disciplined work and study to have such a prestigious honor bestowed upon me. In scouting, I developed various moral and ethical tenants that have shaped my foundation in life. Tenants like integrity, honor, reverence, faith in God, a man's role and his responsibility to his family, and a nearly innumerable quantity of experiences growing under the leadership of the Boy Scouts of America have molded me into who I am today in my very core of being. The realization of my dream to become an Eagle Scout took 11 years to obtain, so I'm no stranger to adversity or perseverance. To my memory,…
No longer did I want to be that person who deserved to be moved down to a deemed “loser” team. No longer did I want to be someone who failed academically, socially, and with family. Of course it took some time, but I gradually became someone who tried their very hardest in most aspects of their life. My confidence soared when I experienced spectacular things happening as I worked towards the things that I wanted. For example, I left the hardship I had experienced in middle school or my freshmen year of high school in the dust and gained my academic letter and beyond. The following sophomore year I made the varsity soccer team and made many new friends. Ashley doesn’t know it but her slap-in-the-face remark to me on that hot afternoon on top of the soccer field changed how I view my worth to the world. Everyday since that significant moment, I have been working to prove anyone who doesn’t believe I can achieve great things through hard work…
In the 7th grade I tried out for the middle school basketball team. I didn’t make the team, so I decided to try out for the wrestling team. I was in pretty good shape going into the first practice but had no idea what I was getting myself into. It was an excruciating first practice with a lot of running, push-ups, and drills that consisted of constant movement. I was hooked though I loved the idea of one on one combat. When the referee blew the whistle, no one could help me, if I wanted to win I had to rely on myself. After my first wrestling season came to an end, I was much more confident in myself. Not only was I in better physical shape, the mental toughness that came with the sport transferred to my academics.…
That first year on the team I learned how to become a better person and how to make friends. Also that year the team went to a high school dance team national competition and we won with the highest score ever given to the team. But none of those events could have prepared me for what was next to come in the career of my high school dance team. Six months later we found out that we would be on Americas Got Talent. It was so exciting that a bunch of high school teenagers…
Personal experience’s can change people in the sense of who they are and sometimes their perspective on life depending on the situation. Personally I have had one experience that has made me realize many things in life and I will never be able to forget it. Soccer season of 2012-2013 school year, all my hard work and dedication during season had practically went down the drain. Physically and emotionally the worst pain I have ever felt knowing it was three days before the biggest game of the year, district finals. Everything I had worked hard for every day after school had no meaning.…