"It's always fun being the impossible" -Walt Disney
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Growing up with a relatively small family was always pretty easy. One sibling, two parents and a family pet. Pretty simple. Growing up with a sibling who seems to always be successful and liked can be intimidating, and quite embarrassing when they are younger. Growing up I was little and honestly I still am. I was a soccer player, it was my passion And way of life, and coincidentally it still is today. During practices I always had to try a bit harder to get my short legs to move as fast as everyone else. I had to push a little harder to earn the title of an "aggressive player" I needed to jump a little higher to head the ball, and push myself a little harder to make it to the end. I started playing when I was 6. Being raised in a relatively competitive family, and community, there was most definitely a lot of pressure to be the best. I was never the all star, or MVP, sometimes I would get the "most improved" award at the end of the season. And I would be lying if I said it never got old. Especially when you have a younger brother who is a kick ass hockey player. At first being. Dragged to his game got annoying and I would sit there with complete jealously watching him score an average of 3 goals a game, wearing his red captain badge. Being the big kid every kid obviously was afraid of. I would never admit it but each moment I would sit and wish I could be like that. I spent most of my childhood trying to get the attention of others, just to some how feel as if for a split second I was worth it. I was never picked to lead my soccer team as a captain, my kicks were never good enough to be chosen for corners, i was never used as good examples when we had our half time pep talks. I would never have girls arguing with each other to be my partner in drills, just the left over option for the girl who didn't win, greeted with a grunt and a "let's get this over with" And my god I stopped wishing for a starting position my third season in. Beyond athletics I was never a straight A , advanced placement student, as you could have guessed. I would always be lucky to get a C handed to me on my report card. Once again comparing my academic achievements to everyone around me. I got used to flipping my test over on my desk once they were handed back just so no one would see my below average score. I never thought it was fair that i would need to go home and study for multiple hours while my brother finished his homework to what seemed to be ages ago and he was outside playing with the neighbor hood kids. I always sighed when the door bell would ring and my friends would ask to play already knowing my parents response " she can't come out she's doing homework" I felt everyday as if I was being punished for being a "underdog".
While growing up this way always seemed so miserable. There was a moment in my life when I got to experience the best feeling in the world. PROVING THEM WRONG. Being someone they never thought I could be, something they never expected. That little shy girl is now 17 years old, still little,measuring in at a whopping 5ft. It seems like I became a completely new person, nothing was the same. Except for one major detail. The urge to never give up. Always being underestimated will result in one of two things, 1.) quitting and giving up. 2.) keep trying and not giving up.
Doing this in hopes of one of two things. 1.) not having a opportunity to be below average and no one noticing. 2.) being below average and having the chance to prove everyone wrong.
It all depends on a persons values on what choice they ultimately made. For me i always dreamed of being in the spotlight, being looked up to and labeled the "best". Or at least that's what I thought. Little did I know that 10 years down the road it would mean so much more to not anyone else but myself.
Coming back to the present, I am a senior in high school, and was given the rewarding title of "captain" for my soccer team. I suppose all those years of being "most improved" payed off so well. I improved so much, I eventually became the best. I became the girl everyone wanted to be partners with, I became the girl who took each corner kick. And surprisingly enough this 5ft girl pushed 6ft girls off the ball on the daily. I signed to play college soccer something I dreamed of for my whole life. But the most rewarding part about never giving up was watching everyone's reactions. "You mean to tell me it was that girl sitting on the sidelines of every Saturday morning soccer game" or " that's the girl that got pushed around so much as a kid" and being able to say "you betcha" Sometimes being the underdog and having so much room to Improve is the greatest gift and blessing a young person can ever have. Working for something so hard and getting it in the future is so much more rewarding than scoring that goal when you were 8 years old. If I were to say my name right now people would think of many things to say. When I think of myself I can also think of many Things but by far the most important thing is "the girl who never gave up". People look at my situation as if it were impossible. And that's the amazing moment I get to say "being the impossible is kind of fun"
