Lado Yezinai
Mrs. Butters
AP Lang & Comp
17 May 2015 It’s very likely that everyone has something that challenges them to the point of feeling like giving up. I experienced mine much earlier in my basketball career. I've played basketball ever since I could remember, but somehow, at fifteen, I still wasn't very good at it. You'd think that ten years of summer camps and an older brother who'd been the stars of his team would have rubbed off on me, but you'd be wrong. I was not quite Michael Jordan, yet, but I was not a lost cause. Not only was I considerably quick on my feet, but I could also drain a three pointer in the hoop when I have space to shoot, unfortunately I wasn't about to be scouted for any college teams. That summer there was a local team tryout and I tried out. Because of my ego, I was convinced that I deserved a position on the team and that there was no way I would be passed over for it.
Well, I’m sure you saw it coming but, long story short, I did not make the team.I was inconsolably angry with myself. I spent the entire car ride home tuning out my parents' words of consolation, replaying the words, " sorry, but you didn't make the team," over and over in my head. I was so bitter that I started to hold a grudge against those individuals who had made the team that I believed I so deserved. I walked around for over a month with a negative outlook, with the conviction that I had been wronged by the team coach. After about a month, with the sting of the initial disappointment somewhat faded, I realized that all I had accomplished by reacting in the way I did was to make myself miserable. My angry looks and avoidance of certain individuals had absolutely no effect on them – in fact, they were entirely oblivious to my

resentment. It was me who was immersed in a dark oblivion, me who was wasting precious time and energy lamenting a decision that I had no control over – a decision that had not even come close to ruining my life. Speaking with friends and family members during that period, I realized that my problems were nothing compared to the heartache and challenges they faced at the time. A close family member’s young child was diagnosed with a terminal illness, the son of another relative died suddenly in a motorcycle accident, and many other people within and beyond my network were suffering from similar losses of loved ones due to tragic circumstances. While this story might sound familiar, the effect that it had on my life was very real. After coming to the realization of how fruitless my anger and resentment was, I vowed to work on thinking
positive