My precious great-niece has inspired me.
Bobbi has barely entered the hallways of high school and she has already made the junior varsity volleyball team. We have been exchanging a few comments on Facebook, where she is enjoying all sorts of support from the other participants there.
In a botched attempt at sarcasm, I tried to encourage her to quit. She missed the sarcastic part and really challenged my suggestion. I have now learned about a gritty side to her that I did not know about previously…and, I like it. She is really determined to do her best.
Bobbi is headed down a challenging but rewarding path. I know, I learned a lot from athletics, including perseverance, team work, dealing with successes and failures, and how much we can accomplish when we have passion and apply ourselves.
I was wondering what kind of things inspired others; Athletics or otherwise. What powerful lessons did you learn as a result of applying yourself at something?
One of my most interesting life-experiences occurred when I was on the junior varsity football team at Western State College, in Gunnison. One of our opponents was the prisoners of Canyon City. Yes, we really went to the State Penitentiary.
I was 17 at the time. Some of the prisoners looked like they were in their 40’s. We took showers in the open with guards parading overhead with rifles at the ready.
During the game, I made a tackle near the sideline and rolled end over end into the feet of the players sitting on their bench. I was scared to death that they would kill me right then and there, but oddly they patted me on the head and congratulated me for a good hit and encouraged me to get back in there and do it again. Interestingly, the prisoners ended up being the cleanest (good sportsmanship) team we played all year.
That was great experience for me.
I will share a few other expereinces in the next few days.
What about you?
What team or group did you join that provided valuable life experience?
It is easy to participate. just click on "comment" you will be asked to set up an account, but it doesn't really mean anything. You are not put on any mailing lists. I picked Google.
2 comments:
I knew David in High School and took advantage of another neat activity Boys State a program supported by Kiwanis to help young people experience our democratic process. I was one of four students chosen to participate in the program which was located at the University of Colorado and the State Legislature where we were organized into groups and asked to develop and pass legislation. I met students from all over the state and learned a lot about our government. I was also motivated to take advantage of other unique opportunities to learn outside of the school setting. I encourage students to keep their eyes open for such programs and opportunities as they're lots of fun and broaden ones perspective. Mark
One of the best things that affected my life was a high school leadership camp at Colorado State University in Fort Collins. It was the first time in my life that I was exposed to an inspirational speaker (Dr. Earl Reum). He presented ideas that I had never heard and immediately started to implement. I also went to Washington DC with project Close Up in High school. Both of those experiences gave me a glimpse at what it is like to really participate in life and how that makes ALL the difference.
Post a Comment