Emily B., Miamisburg Middle School
We Over Me
When you wake up in the morning you have a decision: you could go back to bed and sleep the day away, OR you can get up when your alarm goes off, even if it's 5 o'clock in the morning and make a difference. It was a foggy morning. The sun hadn't woken up yet, BUT I WAS. I threw on my jersey, tied my cleats, and I was out the door IT’S GAME DAY!!! I rolled up with a smile and my big heavy softball bag, only to find my teammates longing in the dugout with wary eyes. As I walked up, I could feel something was missing. Where's all the smiling faces I remembered from the last game? Where's that energy that had everyone bouncing up and down with excitement? It was gone, as if it just vanished out of nowhere.
From the moment you try out and make a team, your teammates aren’t just teammates; they are your family, If you tried and you're barely making it through one of those hot July games where the sun is just scorching down when the ball diamond is starting to feel like a battlefield, you can count on your team to lift you back on your feet. I tried to make the girls laugh, but it just wasn’t working like it used to. Why? Because our competition for the biggest game of the season was the team, we were facing that day. As I was getting told this news, I didn’t panic or pout. I paraded my way back into the dugout and lifted every single one of my teammates up and spoke these words: “Ladies, look, we are a team, and no matter what, win or lose, we will still be a team. If we go out there and play like how we feel now, guess what? We ARE going to lose this game. But if we keep our heads up and play like I know we can, there’s no doubt in my mind we can win this game! So go out there and play like you want to win!” I will always remember those words, and I tell you what, we went out on that field and played our hearts out. And when we came off, we were not only closer as a team, but we were CHAMPIONS!
This experience taught me the value of a “we over me" attitude, which simply means don’t just give up on something just because it may be difficult at the time. It showed me that no matter the challenges you face as a team, you can overcome even the toughest of challenges. I know that for a fact, I will always be there for my team, and I will always try my best to keep a positive attitude because, at the end of the day, the one who wins isn’t the one who goes home with the trophy, but the team who made the most memories.
