William E., Other School - Not Listed
More Than a Game: Choosing Optimism
“It ain't about how hard you hit. It’s about how hard you can be hit and keep moving forward.” This quote by Rocky Balboa sums up how I view life. Living a good and happy life isn't about having everything perfect or how you want it, but how you respond when everything falls apart. Dottie Yeck believed that being a good person and doing good things helps you find joy and stay positive. I put this idea to the test during my past hockey season when a series of events nearly ruined my entire year.
During the very first game of the season, I broke my collarbone. I was devastated and infuriated, but I stayed focused on recovery and attended every practice I could to support my teammates. Finally, after weeks of waiting, I was about to be cleared to play when I caught mono (a contagious viral illness that frequently causes the spleen and liver to become enlarged due to an increase in white blood cells fighting the infection). Stuck on the bench again, I felt even more frustrated, but I kept pushing through the exhaustion. After recovering from mono, I finally returned for my sixth game, only to break the exact same collarbone on a hit from behind.
Back on the bench where I had spent almost the entire season, it started to feel like a cruel joke. It would have been easy to complain about my bad luck, or let my own frustration drag down my team''s energy. Instead, I made a conscious choice to “be happy” and stay positive, even knowing the rest of my season was gone. I knew that if I let the negative thoughts take over, it would be impossible to move forward, so I chose optimism instead.
I chose to focus on what I could control: my attitude, my mentality, and supporting my teammates. The season before, my attitude was terrible; always mad at someone and blaming others. I made sure to change that during this forced downtime. During games I became the biggest cheerleader on the bench doing whatever my teammates or coaches needed.This started a ripple effect. Everyone began looking out for one another. My coach couldn''t believe I was staying this positive after all of this had happened to me.`
Ignoring negative influences like self-doubt and bad luck allowed me to stay positive and learn who was truly there for me. Additionally, I could be there for others even when I wasn’t in a great space myself. It also taught me that my circumstances are not what define me - my response to them does. Happiness is an active choice just like Dottie Yeck believed. By choosing optimism, I can turn even the worst setbacks into something meaningful to help me grow.
