By Janiel Register
Do you ever think how one thing, even something minor, can change your life entirely? This was me until I started trying new things — which led me to finding my passion, my one true love, volleyball. I know that it may sound not sound like a big deal, but honestly I wouldn’t be able to live without it.
My love for volleyball didn’t come easy. It took hard work and dedication. On the first day of tryouts, I was hesitant. I couldn’t decide if being on the team was something I wanted to do. I had a reason: I felt intimidated by much more experienced members on the team. But I got over my fear and pushed through, proving to myself and my coach that I was made for this. Over the next couple days of tryouts, my coach had me practice with girls that were previously on the team. I began to form a bond with them, and from there on, my confidence increased and I began to improve rapidly. Every day there were fresh challenges, but I no longer thought about giving up.
The season began, and although I was a sophomore, I was one of the six starters. This meant so much to me because freshmen and sophomores usually don’t start or even play in games. Of course I was nervous, but I didn’t let that get the best of me. We won that game. Unfortunately the rest of our season wasn’t so successful. But that just motivated us to do better.
Although I love volleyball, school is my first priority. It is stressful to maintain your grades while having 2-3 hours practices, then getting home around 8 o’clock and doing about 3 hours of homework. Because my junior year is probably my most important year in of high school, my parents didn’t want me doing volleyball.
I proved my parents wrong. I have been able to maintain decent grades while playing volleyball. That’s proof that if you really love something, you’ll find a way to keep it in your life.