Tell us about the most significant challenge you've faced or something important that didn't go according to plan. How did you manage the situation?(*) (200-250 words)
Although I played in "Boone Hoops", a kid's basketball league, I was just as nervous as the other kids on the cold gymnasium floor the day middle school tryouts. Back then I longed to play for the school team. I worked hard to display all my talents and abilities to impress the coach. The list was taped outside the gym doors, and we huddled around it to search for our names. As I scanned the list, I realized that my name was not present. I thought there must have been a mistake, a typo, a slip of the mind by the busy coach, but no; I had been cut and left out to dry, like laundry or an unwanted puppy.
A few days passed and I came to realize that maybe basketball wasn't for me. I gave cross country a chance. At first it seemed ridiculous, maybe even insane. Who in the right mind would voluntarily run in the summer heat, or scamper up hills in the pouring rain? Now, six years and hundreds of miles later, cross country flows through my bones. A highlight of my life, running has not only been the foundation of my strongest relationships with my closest friends, but also a significant influence on how I live.
Remembering those seventh grade tryouts still sets off a pang of disappointment in the pit of my stomach, but I have discovered that, because I refused to be crippled or cast down, I was able to bounce back.
Although I played in "Boone Hoops", a kid's basketball league, I was just as nervous as the other kids on the cold gymnasium floor the day middle school tryouts. Back then I longed to play for the school team. I worked hard to display all my talents and abilities to impress the coach. The list was taped outside the gym doors, and we huddled around it to search for our names. As I scanned the list, I realized that my name was not present. I thought there must have been a mistake, a typo, a slip of the mind by the busy coach, but no; I had been cut and left out to dry, like laundry or an unwanted puppy.
A few days passed and I came to realize that maybe basketball wasn't for me. I gave cross country a chance. At first it seemed ridiculous, maybe even insane. Who in the right mind would voluntarily run in the summer heat, or scamper up hills in the pouring rain? Now, six years and hundreds of miles later, cross country flows through my bones. A highlight of my life, running has not only been the foundation of my strongest relationships with my closest friends, but also a significant influence on how I live.
Remembering those seventh grade tryouts still sets off a pang of disappointment in the pit of my stomach, but I have discovered that, because I refused to be crippled or cast down, I was able to bounce back.
