Coates — Opening Words

Writing Prompt:Reflect on your experience. Write or respond in a medium of your choice (video, drawing, etc.) about a transformative experience that opened you to a new world (perhaps meeting someone of an identity different from your own, traveling, studying something new). What was your perspective prior to this experience? How did you grow as a result of this encounter?

A time that opened me to a new world was when I joined sports for the first and played in front of a huge crowd. This was during my 8th grade year in middle school when I joined the volleyball team as my first experiemce. In my perspective, I see a lot of people staring and being serious. I hear the crowd and people yelling and shouting. I was really scared to play for the first time, I got really nervous and at the same time embarrassed because of the mistakes I made. I would buy a volleyball and use it to practice at home or at school. But I always end up loosing it or getting it taken away. As I participated in sports in my high school year, the fear of playing in front of crowds is gone. I got used to it and I’m not afraid anymore. Playing sports in high school is way different in middle school. It is more competitive and aggressive. I get butterflies in my stomach now and then, but it ends up disappearing when I start to play. As of right now, joining sports make me open to the real world. I love to play sports and it helps me be more communicative and more athletic.