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Overcoming obstacles
Essay on performance anxiety
How can people overcome adversity in the face of overwhelming obstacles
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Failure is what I felt as soon as I dropped a four-rotation toss on sabre. Failure is what I sensed when my instructor told me to pick up a flag when everyone else had a sabre within their grip. Failure is what stared back at me every time I looked in the mirror.
That was weapon tryout day for my school's colorguard team. Since it was my fourth season spinning, all of my teammates expected me to make weapon line. I was weary at first, but after all of their taunts and jokes, I started to believe it too. This led to me slacking off. I rarely practiced, and when I did I got nothing done. I thought it was unnecessary because I assumed I had my position secured.
Tryout day arrives quicker than expected, but I am eager. My warmup is questionable,
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but I expect to improve as the event progresses. "Toss a triple," my instructor says.
I release solidly, and I catch solidly. My next two triples follow in the same fashion. I begin to talk myself up in my head, trying to prepare but also relax myself for the next phase of the audition.
"Toss a quad," my instructor says. I release solidly, but my hand misses the hilt on the catch.
"Catch solid, and you're gold," I tell myself. Before I am able to throw my next quad, I hear "That's enough."
My brain is going a hundred miles a minute. My inner conscious argues with itself. "You blew it. You really blew it. " "No, you're fine he probably thinks you're having an off day." "But what if everyday is an off day?"
My instructor comes up to me. It feels like the world is in slow motion when he says "pick up a flag for now." It didn't hit me at first, but when it did, I was devastated. I was a failure.
Went home and replayed the day in my head. My warmup and my quad had flaws within them. For weeks before this day, I had led myself to believe that I was better than I really was. Vanity, arrogance, and disappointment were just a handful of emotions that were wreaking havoc in my mind. It made me want to quit. It extinguished my inner fire an passion for this activity. After that day, I had accepted my failure, and wanted no part in my
colorguard. I returned the next week with my equipment in my arms, ready to return it to my coach. Before I could explain, my coach says "since you didn't make weapon line, I decided to promote you to captain of the flag line." Although I was underwhelmed by this "promotion", it turned out to be an important factor of who I am today. I gained leadership skills by communicating between the two lines, implementing a positive attitude within the flags, and solving problems efficiently as they arise. Together, we learned the true meaning of the proverb by W.E. Hickson: "'Tis a lesson you should heed:/Try, try, try again./If at first you don't succeed,/Try, try, try again." I worked behind the scenes to get the position I wanted from the beginning. I would arrive at practice early and be the last one to leave. The offseason would be spent spinning everyday from dawn until dusk. I kept fighting for what I so desperately wanted. My hard work was recognized the next season when I was offered on of the top spots on the weapon line. Every experience I have shapes my life in some way. Nevertheless, this experience where I have encountered failure, humiliation,and success is one that defines my person.
I felt as though I was watching a train barrelling towards me, an inevitable bullet that had come tumbling out of the opposing pitcher’s arm. But instead I stood immobilized, watching my team's only chance of winning whiz by me. Strike three. I heard my team from behind me shouting “SWING!” with my mind screaming the same. But my bat remained unmoving, the pop of the catcher's glove like the nail into the coffin that was our defeat. All I had to do to keep our hopes of winning hope alive was swing, and yet I couldn't. I stayed on the field afterwards, tossing the ball up in the air and swinging away, landing it on the thick maple barrel of the bat.
to throw. Well the first thing that came to mind was just to fling it up in the
“When i count to 3, run and jump threw it because we only got 10 seconds and the fire is going to burn us." Said Mat.
It then started to get harder and each day was a different workout to help me and my teammates improve. I was at a point where all I could do was attend school, go to practice and go home. Each day I was beyond tired. At a point of time I felt like giving up and going back to my regular life, and regular schedule. As the coach started to notice how I felt, he pulled me to the side and started to question what was going on. I explained, but everything I said was not a good enough reason. My coach told me, “If this is what you really want you won’t give up, no matter how hard it may get you will overcome it.” That day I learned a valuable lesson, to never give up.
Back to the situation at hand, you stare down at the TOUGH GLOVE you were able to
‘Tweet’ I heard a whistle go. It was time for my first lacrosse practice. I had never played in my life, and I was very nervous, but excited at the same time. My team all ran up to the coach in full pads, still getting used to the huge weight of the helmet. “Pass to each other for 10 minutes”, the coach yelled. I had never even passed. There were about ten high school coaches there to help us. One of my coaches dashed over to me and passed. I missed every single pass, but right away I saw a ball fly right into the pocket of my stick. I was extremely happy that I actually made a single pass. I passed another time and it was good! I was starting to get the hang of it but we were called off to practice shooting. I knew I’d miss most or all shots,
When I was entering into High School, I tried to join as many clubs as I can, since I wanted not only to be superior in grades, but also extracurricular activities. So as usual, I joined Key Club. At first volunteering at the events was fun, but as I went to more events, it felt as if it was a chore. I did not feel any passion; it was rather tiresome.
High school is meant to be the time of your life, but for most seniors just like me it can be some of the most emotional and crazy time. The things in my past make me who I am today, and the things I do now are the first footsteps into the future. I’ve learned a lot about myself in these past four years, and I still have so much learning to do. This is my high school story; the good, bad, and the ugly.
I throw my arms wide, as wide as the far horizon, and take a step forward.
Wait. Be still. Don't go over the line. Don't let go. Wait for it. "BANG!" My reactions were precise as I sprung out of the blocks. The sun was beating down on my back as my feet clawed at the blistering, red turf. With every step I took, my toes sunk into the squishy, foul smelling surface, as my lungs grasped for air. Everything felt the way it should as I plunged toward my destination. I clutched the baton in my sweaty palms, promising myself not to let go. My long legs moved me as fast as I could go as I hugged the corner of the line like a little girl hugging her favorite teddy bear. The steps were just like I had practiced. As I came closer to my final steps, my stomach started twisting and my heart beat began to rise. The different colors of arrows started to pass under my feet, and I knew it was time.
Let’s flash back in time to before our college days. Back to then we had lunch trays filled with rubbery chicken nuggets, stale pizza, and bags of chocolate milk. A backpack stacked with Lisa Frank note books, flexi rulers, and color changing pencils. The times where we thought we wouldn’t make it out alive, but we did. Through all the trials and tribulations school helped build who I am today and shaped my future. From basic functions all the way to life-long lessons that helped shape my character.
"Julia, you should do your backhand spring, it's really fun and I know you've been working on it for a while. "Yours will be wonderful," I interrupted our bouncing. " I really want to do it but I'm really scared and there are no coaches here, they are all coaching different groups," Julia exclaimed.
My longboard was behind me. I felt my heart stop as I was going forward. I put my hands out as a defense so I don't faceplant. I reach out and stretch my arms out as far as they can possibly extend. Extended like a rubber band about to snap.
When you toss the ball in the air, you should always keep that arm up for guidance. That will help you have a better idea of how high the ball was
Failure. What is it to you? For me, failure is the lack of change when I make a mistake. My third grade teacher, Mr. Ramirez, had used the quote “Un error es uno que no se no corrigen,” through the school year, but I never understood what it meant. On the last day, Mr. Ramirez explained the phrase as “A mistake is only a mistake if you do not fix it.” I didn’t really see its importance on that day, but by the end of fifth grade, and I was getting ready to leave elementary school, I realized the significance of Mr. Ramirez’s proverb.