Just like that it was over. I was alone in the locker room packing my bags for what would be the very last time. A huge part of my life was now over and I was unsure of how to react. As my now “former” teammates began to flood back into the locker room bringing hugs and apologies with them, all I could do was force a smile and offer few words of congratulations. As I was leaving my familiar past and stepping into new territory, thoughts crept into my mind of what’s next for me? Why is this happening? Am I not good enough?
I put on my first volleyball uniform in the sixth grade and here I was six years later trying out for the last time, in the only sport I knew. I always dreaded tryout week because of the stress, worry and nerves that came with it. After six years of tryouts always ending with making a team, it came down to this, make varsity or go home. I never imagined I’d be going home. It was a Wednesday afternoon in early March and the head varsity volleyball coach was explaining to me…show more content… From this experience, I learned to accept failure and not let it define me as a person nor take away my love for the game. To answer those initial questions in my head, even though I didn’t make the varsity volleyball team, I put forth my best effort and gave 100%; unfortunately, I came up short that time. Life happens - sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. While we can’t control all of our situations and their outcomes, we can control our attitude and how we carry ourselves in difficult situations. My character was shaped and developed by this experience and in the end it only made me stronger. So what’s next for me? I am a firm believer that when one door closes another one opens. I now use my extra time exploring new hobbies and dedicating more time to school work. As failure has taught me to never give up, playing club volleyball as well as intramural is still very much an option for me to continue with my sport I love and know so
