Discuss an accomplishment or event, formal or informal, that marked your transition from childhood to adulthood within your culture, community, or family.
As a child growing up and even as I entered high school, I was always seen as a shy, very unspoken person. At that time, I always pictured myself as a follower, not a leader. As a freshman, I tried out for the junior varsity and varsity field hockey teams at my high school. I tried my best and ended up only achieving junior varsity even though I had dreamed about being selected for the varsity team. My high hopes were crushed, but I still kept my head up high, as I wanted the varsity coach to see that I had a strong passion for the sport. Well, my hard work paid off and after two games, I was asked to practice and play with the varsity team and this is where my journey begins.
I completed my freshman field hockey season with more playing time than I ever would have imagined and was excited for the next season to come. Sophomore year came, and the itch to play was overwhelming. I was hopeful to learn and develop new skills. Sophomore year was difficult for me, especially during field hockey. I was dealing with self esteem issues and would get down on myself when I made even the smallest of mistakes on the playing field. I pushed through sophomore year, and set myself on the back burner to observe my team and their skills. My coach was a lot of help at this time as she saw the problems I was having emotionally. She pulled me aside one game and said to me, “take this year as a learning experience Lauren, and you will develop into the strong woman I know you can be”. On that day, my coach inspired me to believe in myself and I have kept those words close to my heart ever since.
Junior year came around and I was confident when entering the field hockey season. I had prepared myself well and I was ready to play a competitive game. Once again, my hard work paid off and I became a starter and played every minute of every game. As my junior year season approached the end, I started thinking about my role on the team and began to realize that I had developed some leadership skills all on my own. As I approached the end of my junior year season, I was elected the senior varsity captain of my field hockey team. To me, this accomplishment is what drove me out of childhood and into adulthood. I have learned leadership skills and it has taught me that being in charge of something larger than yourself is a great experience that everyone should have to privilege to undergo. Changing from the once shy, unspoken little girl, to a leader instead of a follower has changed my life for the good. If I had never had the opportunity to find my real voice, who knows how different my life would be right now
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