CARPE DIEM
09/15/2012
Have you ever been a part of something that was bigger than you—the individual? Being part of an athletic team is something I will NEVER regret. I come from a big, huge family. Being a part of something big is not something that is new to me. However, being part of a competitive team gives me such a rush! Let me try to break this down for you. Imagine this, you are ranked 24th in the nation. Sure, top 25 is something to be proud of, but you got some fighting to do. And you finally get your opportunity to shine! You get to play #7 in the nation. That’s right; you get the chance to prove to the nation that you are underrated. You have nothing to lose, but everything to gain. This task would be equivalent to an enormous project, 35 page paper, or a final exam for your senior capstone class. BUT, being part of a team, you get help. You are not in this alone. You get 13 of your best friends, your sisters, to accomplish this task. Haha, you probably know by now. The IUE volleyball team is what I am referring to. We played #7 ranked Grand View and won in 5 sets. We came out on top with tons of energy and grabbed game one. Grand View is #7 for a reason, though—they smoked us game 2 and 3. What did we do? We broke down, we panicked. We played scared and a second late on everything. 4th game, we huddled up and shared some inspiring words. We stopped playing the blame game and pointing fingers and played TOGETHER; as a team. “It takes 14 girls to win and it takes 14 girls to lose. We win and lose as a team. We need to come together" We turned our game completely around. We SMOKED them in game 4. And in game 5, we kicked some major butt. I literally felt every single emotion that game. I was excited, anxious, worried, nervous, and so much more. It was a very emotional game. And as a senior, that game will stay with me throughout my life. CARPE DIEM: I wanted to seize the moment. The Message: GET INVOLVED. It doesn’t have to be anything competitive, but just something you enjoy doing.