Personal Narrative: How Basketball Changed My Life

I was thirteen years old bouncing a basketball in my front driveway. Playing for pure joy, never thinking twice that this sport could take me any further. Little did I know that what I thought to be the simple sport of basketball would soon change my life forever. It was my eighth grade year, I had the opportunity to play high school basketball for the first time. I played many times before, but never like this. Not for a team, never with a group of girls aiming toward the same goal. I went into tryouts looking for fun. I wanted to play a game, nothing more. The week came to an end, I made the varsity team, it was nothing more than a title to me at the time. Not until the intense practices, serious locker rooms, and hours upon hours of repetition that I truly understood the meaning behind the name. My freshman season came and passed, sophomore year as well. Both highly enjoyable seasons. Although it was not until my junior year that it hit me...it hit me like a ton of bricks. That is when basketball became surreal. No longer a hobby, I indulged in when I had free time. I made the time for it. Playing for two teams, practicing every day, in addition to going to extra training on some nights. Basketball was a part of me. I finally set my sights, now knew

I did not have the leisure to show up when I wanted or preform how I wanted anymore. I was a leader of this team, I was naturally held to a higher standard. People depended on me day in and day out. They needed me to come in every day ready to give it my all, whether that be to lead by example or to just make sure everyone was on the same page, because if one of us slacked or one of us failed, we all failed. In order to succeed in the long run, we must all buy in. Not one of us could do it alone, we needed each other. As a team we learned so much through the game of basketball that could not have been taught anywhere