After years of training, I was finally being put to my ultimate test — the test for my first dan black belt in Tae Kwon Do. I had gotten up early that morning and ate just a small bowl of cereal. I was more nervous than I had ever been in my life and was sure that any more food I ate would come right back up. It was seven thirty in the morning, and my test wasn't until nine. People always talk about time flying, and I never really experienced the phenomenon until that morning. The hour between waking up and leaving for the dojang was the fastest in my life; I wished it could have lasted forever and I could just push back the time of the nerve-racking test, but that wasn't the case. I got to the dojang a few minutes past eight thirty, and if I’ve ever come close to an anxiety attack, it was then. I opened the door and was greeted with “Good morning, are you ready for your big day?” from my master instructor, Master Buckley. There was no doubt that he could tell how nervous I was, telling me, “There’s nothing to be nervous about, Hunter.” “Of course there isn’t.” I thought to myself. “Just the most important test I will have taken in my fourteen years of life.” I walked through the rows of chairs, in which family and friends were already sitting, and bowed before crossing over the black tape and walking onto the training floor. Ahead of me, a table was set up in front of a bunch of chairs, and I knew they would soon be filled with some of my instructors that would critique my every move. I tried to calm down as I stretched and practiced some of my forms, but nothing seemed to work. Master Buckley yelled, “Ji hap!”, or “line up”, and I knew that it was time to start my test. There I was, standing all by myself, facing... ... middle of paper ... ... I put it on, a huge wave of relief crashed on me. I finally did it. After five years, I finally got my black belt. To this day, I remember every aspect of my black belt test, and I will remember it for years to come (although I wouldn’t mind forgetting some parts). Whenever I am presented with an obstacle or hard task, I think back to my test. What would have happened had I quit or stayed on the ground during my last fight? I would not have my black belt, and I would not know what it feels like to accomplish a goal that I have been working toward for years. My test taught me what it means to persevere. I face every obstacle with the mindset, “I made it through that test, I can make it through this with no problem,” and sure enough, I do. I gained a lot more from my test than just my black belt, and that is why it is such an important milestone in my life.
First I got my white belt in the other side I was kind of nervous because everyone their are strangers to me. The first thing I did was breaking boards with a front kick. And I thought that was easy. I started taekwondo when I was 9 years. Why wanted to be a blackbelt you ask here's your answer to protect myself. Taekwondo made me focus on my education more. My journey to black belt did not start with me walking by the academy and enrolling as is the experience of many students. I was told to either put in a 110 percent effort in it, or to have a seat. Basically, my mom told not to make any arguments. I decided to push myself more than I can ever imagine to being the
As I'm pulling the excess rope through my d-ring, I receive a somber look from one of the Black-shirts. It was a look that spoke loudly of my screw-up, but at the same time it had a feel of respect. Respect for someone who didn't panic in a moment of distress, but rather someone who remembered his training and reacted accordingly. As I had finished unhooking, I bent over and picked my pride up off of the ground and brushed it off. It was a little bruised, but I held onto it firmly as I walked over to the back of the line. Two more repels and this day, and these two weeks would be over.
session, I found myself reflecting on why I felt so uneasy and nervous about participating in an
Going to class everyday without fail, reviewing and completely perfecting the five years of curriculum I had so carefully worked through, to the point where everything was completely automatic, and preparing for the fifty push-up requirement, were not enough. The black-belt test requires creativity through my creation of a personal kata and a self-defense to every attack I had learned. Beyond this, physical endurance and stamina are required in order to spar for ten minutes straight at the end of the four hour test, with a fresh opponent every minute. The black-belt test was the most physically grueling challenge I had ever faced and was much more mentally exhausting than any academic
When we first arrived I’d thought we’d taken a wrong turn and went to a traveling gypsy convention by mistake. The whole field outside the school was filled with tents of various sizes and colors. 200 wrestlers, about thirty of which were girls, filtered about the area. As my soon-to-be teammates and I headed to the first practice, anxiety gnawed at my stomach like a dog with a bone (FL). I wanted to impress everybody, and prove that I could make it in this sport. Before we started, the coach patted me on the shoulder. “I’ve got your back all right.” he told me. I smiled and nodded. At least one person was looking out for me.
In the beginning of clinical I was very nervous and didn’t know what to expect. Now looking back I can see how much I have grown. I was nervous just doing patient care and I had...
Just like Salva from A Long Walk To Water, I showed perseverance by studying more every time I got a lower
I was in the middle of traffic. It was 7:24 a.m. and I had to be in class in six minutes. After studying a significant amount of time, nerves were eating me alive because this exam would mark a stage in my life. My mind kept running, going over and over everything I had studied, thinking about physics, biology, and my worst nightmare; organic chemistry. Five minutes had gone by and I was almost at the location where my future would be defined. My vehicle was parked and my anxiety would not go away. Breathe in, breath out, I begun to ponder; what am I doing here?
It was sunny out, but there was a slight breeze blowing the tent around, making it hard to set up. Friday evening was the practice run, where all the riders got the chance to pre-run the course for the race the next day. When the announcer announced that it was my class’ turn to practice my stomach dropped. It felt as if I was going 100 mph and just hit a dip in the road. I felt like it was time to race. I put on my helmet and difficulty strapped the chin strap. It was difficult with my hands trembling. My knees were weak and I felt like I was going to drop my bike when I was starting it. I gave it a good kick and a fair amount of throttle and it fired up. I could instantly smell the fumes of high quality race gas. That seemed to calm me down. I pulled out of the pits and up to the starting line. All of the riders began to start their bikes. The roar of the engines made me nervous. My hands were sweating and my mouth was dry. The official said, “Remember this is just practice, don’t kill yourself.” That relaxed me reminding me that I could just putt around out there having no worries of winning, losing, or most importantly, crashing.
The sound of my alarm buzzed while I struggled to get out of bed. I wiped my eyes and got out of bed. My mind was packed with thoughts and emotions. That day was a very special day for me. I had prepared for that day for months if not years. Just thinking about it, made me nervous. It was tryout day for the high school golf team. Even though I was on varsity since freshman year, I was still nervous because there was always the possibility that you can get booted if your performance is sub-par. After staring at the wall for a solid minute, I shook myself out of the trance I was in and continued with my routine. Minutes passed, and I was ready to go to school. I loaded my car up with my clubs and started for school. I had a hard time keeping
While I was at bonds Alternative program the best technique I learned was belly breathing. Belly breathing is to help you calm down. What you do is find a good and quiet spot, sit in a chair, put your heads towards your stomach towards your back, breath in for four seconds,
Exactly one month later, all of the fears that happened in the past were returning. Was I going to fail? Was I going to get the same, strict instructor? As I slide out of the car and slowly shut the door, I could only hope that the same person wouldn't be there when I attempted to take my driving test last time. With that thought running through my head, my brain was in overdrive. All the wheels were turning as fast as they possibly could.
Karate taught me the importance of being dependable. My classmates depended on me to show up time. If someone was late, we were all required to do push ups. For example, I was late to class once, and because of that everyone had to do forty pushups. Making everyone do forty push ups is a quick way to make enemies, so I did not want to be late again. Similarly, it has taught me to always try my best. If I, or anyone in the class, was caught slacking everyone was required to do push
I was a bit apprehensive about our first day on the cardiac floor. I am confident in the quality of my practice, and eager to increase my skill set and exposure to new experiences, however juggling the many tasks that are demanded from a nurse while practicing on an inpatient floor is overwhelming to me. I have experience working in an emergency department as well as the preoperative and postoperative care units, so the long-term needs of an inpatient tend to make me feel inundated. As I walked into the hospital, I decided to set my preconceived notions about how my day was going to go aside; realizing that as a nurse, you must be flexible and ready to accept whatever the day may throw at you.
“Beep, Beep, Beep!” It was six o’clock in the morning and my alarm clock woke me up 4to prepare for the first day of my Senior Year. I slowly arose from my deep sleep and strolled toward my closet as if I were a snail. After twenty minutes of contemplating heavily, I finally reached a decision on my outfit. My outfit consisted of a navy blue and light brown elephant print kimono, a pure white blouse, light brown flats, and a silver triangle shaped Aztec necklace. To my surprise the clock struck a quarter to seven, leaving me only moments left to get ready. I jumped into the shower and then prepared for the day I had ahead of me.