Essay Question #4: According to Henry David Thoreau, “One is not born into the world to do everything, but to do something.” What is your something?

It was the first game I ever played in. I remember sitting on the side lines, staring at my teammates as they began to warm up before the championship game. I wished I could be out there with them, but I knew I wasn’t good enough yet. The game started with a volley and we won first serve. My team served it up and managed to win the first game. You could feel the intensity of the game; fill the room as you watched the game in progress. Then the second game comes, we needed to win it but luck just wasn’t on our side. So it all came down to the third game. We were three points down and my coach blows his whistle for a sub. My coach looks at me and says, “Sofia, you’re in.” I looked around to see if it was really me he was talking to. I got up and traded places with one of the starting seniors. It was my serve, and all I had to do was get my serve over to get the ball in motion. I served it over and played as if it was second nature to me. My team ended up winning the championship game and a first place trophy.
Over the years I have come to realize that volleyball is “my something”. Ever since I stepped onto that volleyball court, back in the sixth grade, I felt my whole life change. As I began to really learn and understand the sport, my skills began to grow. With my enhanced skills came this confidence in myself that I never knew I had. I transformed from that insecure child to a mature and confident teenager. Volleyball has made me who I am today: a strong young woman, ready to endure whatever new things life throws my way.