In life, you can let a disappoint drag you down or use it as motivation. My narrative is about the time I earned a lettermen’s jacket. It takes place my freshman and sophomore year of high school. It shows all the ups and downs it took for me to reach my goal. Along with the roller coaster of emotions that went along with the process.

About a year ago, during my freshman year, I tried to get a lettermen’s jacket because I lettered in Color Guard. If you do not know what Color Guard is, it is school representatives, who do parades with the marching band and/or performed competitively with flags and/or riffles.

I went to the store and picked everything out and the clerk told me it would take about 2-3 weeks to get my jacket. I was very sad it was going to take so long. I counted down the weeks, then days until I was going to get my jacket. But that day never came. My mom came home kind of frustrated one day. That’s when she broke me the news that the school was not going to allow me to get a letterman’s jacket because I did not letter in a sport.

I thought that was the cruelest and rude thing. They should not have the right to tell me if I can get a lettermen’s jacket or not because they are not the ones paying for it, my parents and I were. My mom was just as mad as I was. I was not just mad because they kept me from getting a jacket, they are keeping other kids who have a letter in clubs/groups from getting jackets as well. In my opinion, you should not have to be in a sport to get a lettermen’s jacket and the school should not have say as to whether or not you can get one.

 After that my Color Guard coach said, “Sorry, I forgot to tell you that you can’t get a lettermen’s jacket.” She made me really frustrated. She should have told us right from the start that we couldn’t get a lettermen’s jacket. Then none of this would have ever happened. But what I didn’t know at the time was about a year later my dream was going to come true. I had been dreaming of getting a lettermen’s jacket and lettering for as long as I can remember.

I set a goal to attempt to letter in golf the following fall. I was not sure it was an obtainable goal, but you never know unless you try. I had to put my focus on putting forth my very best effort during my sophomore season of golf.

I practiced hard during scheduled practices, as well as on my own. I tried to always have a positive attitude about my own games and the games of my teammates. If things started out rough during a round of golf, I tried to shake it off and move forward. I attempted to learn from my mistakes and take the advice given to me by coaches to improve my scores. Slowly but surely each round my scores improved. I started feeling a bit more confident, but I was still unsure if I had really done enough to actually letter in the sport.

A few months after the golf season had wrapped up, I was just sitting in Geometry when I got called down to the office after class. I did what I was supposed to do and went to the office. I was so confused about why I was going to the office. Once I got there, I asked our office lady Kari why I had to go to the office. She said, “Go to Pam’s desk in the back.”  Pam is part of the athletic office. When I walked back there, Pam was not at her desk, but I saw my letter certificate. Just sitting there was a nice shiny gold pin sitting on a thick piece of certified paper. But it was missing one thing the letter A. I go to a school called Amery High School that’s why it would have the letter A. I had been waiting for this day my whole life. I picked it up in my hands and dashed to my next class, photography.

 When I got there, I had to tell all my friends. Immediately after I told my friends, I took a picture with my phone and texted the photo to my parents. My mom texted me back immediately. It read, “I am so proud of you. Did you get the A to go with it?” I replied, “No.” My mom said I should ask someone at the office why I didn’t get the letter A.

After my photography class was over, I went to lunch. When I was done eating, I went directly to the office. I asked Kari why I didn’t have the letter A. She told me to go ask Pam. I should have just gone to Pam from the start, but I did not think about that. I went back to Pam and told her I had got my letter certificate earlier that day, but I did not have the letter A. She told me she ran out. I was thinking, “How can you run out of the letter A?” She said she had just ordered more, and it would be here next week. I texted my mom again directly after I talked to Pam so I wouldn’t forget. My mom said that was fine. That night after school I had a drive time, so I did not get to go home after school. When I got home, I ripped my letter out of my backpack and showed my family. They were all so proud of me. They knew how much receiving the letter meant to me. They also knew I had worked really hard toward my goal. Because it was important to me, it was also important to them, so it was like a victory for our entire family.

I was in so much shock when I got my letter. At first, I couldn’t believe my lifelong dream was coming true. I was told at the beginning of my golf season, to letter you had to not be the last score for at least one match of golf. Every match I was always last in fifth place on my team. If you did not know, there are five girls allowed on varsity, and they only use the four best scores out of the five. But that didn’t affect me, I still loved the sport and still tried.

At first, I didn’t think I even deserved to letter in golf. But then my mom told me they take other things into account such as improvement, effort, and attendance. She said my coaches probably noticed the amount of time I had put into preparing for games. My mom knew I had really poured my heart into each game I played. That’s when I realized that I really did deserve that letter. I had been working to get for years and I will keep working for years to come because even though I have the letter, I am still very passionate about the game of goal and I am excited to continue improving my game.

There were obstacles along the way. The season did not start out that good. There were new schools, it was my first year on varsity, and we changed coaches halfway through the season, but none of that stopped me from getting the letter I deserved. Because it wasn’t easy, it makes the fact that I earned the letter even more rewarding.

I can’t wait for Christmas to get here so I can get my lettermen’s jacket. Then I can wear my nice, white, cowhide leather sleeved, wool lettermen’s jacket. It will have patches displaying a golf bag, flag, and 22 on the sleeve. The 22 represents the year I am going to graduate high school. The coat will also showcase my bright and shiny gold 2019 golf pin and my 2018 color guard pin on the front, along with my name. I have been waiting for my whole life to get this one of a kind lettermen’s jacket. Since it costs so much it is going to be my Christmas present and my birthday present. This is just fine with me since I have wanted one for so long, and I plan on wearing it every day. So, it will be well worth all the time and money that went into making the jacket.

I suggest if you have any hopes or dreams to follow them. No matter what your wishes are, just follow them. It makes you feel so good when you have accomplished following your goals. Hard work pays off. Even if you don’t succeed, at least you know you tried. Then you can try, try again. In the end, perseverance and hard work really do pay off. Never let disappointments keep you down for too long. Instead, use that energy in a positive way. Use it as motivation to push you toward the goals you are trying to reach.