Wanting change. It doesn’t always have to be something that comes from within yourself. Sometimes the part of you that needs changing has to be started by someone else. Sometimes a person’s word needs to reach you for you to realize that the change you seek was already complete. I have seen all these aspects. I may have taken four years to realize it, but basketball was there to help me through my longing.
As I am now the team captain for my Varsity basketball team and an all-conference player, junior varsity will always mark where my future self really began. I was disregarded, forgotten and talked of by my team in middle school; the team that was supposed to be so close to me that we were all practically sisters. Because of their lack of
…show more content…
Between the time that we had played them and the last, one of our starters tore her ACL; the dreaded injury that any athlete tries their hardest to avoid. We entered that school the last time with every intention of accepting the possibility of a loss.I had played my heart out, but unfortunately got four personal fouls. I had one last chance to not foul-out or I would have to sit on the bench and helplessly watch my team struggle.
We had only lost our first two games. We were first for our JV conference and losing was not an option at this point. I was made to sit out to save my chances of an accidental foul. The agony of watching the scoreboard favor the other team was unbearable. As I watched the clock tick down to its last minutes, I was told to sub in.
The next three words that escaped my coach’s mouth will forever be stitched in me. He had told me with pure confidence “we need you”. The overwhelming adrenaline rush that I felt helped me gain a career high in points that year. I had wanted to hear those words for so long that I didn’t realize it myself. The change that I longed for was for me to realize that I was needed. I had all along but was too hidebound to see it. I found my true self in three simple and powerful words and they shaped me into the person I am today: a dependable one. My idea of change just happened to always be