College Admissions Essay: The Big Loss Of My Life

I walked off the floor with sweat dripping from my hair. So many thoughts flew through my head that I couldn’t focus on anything. My junior year of basketball felt like it ended as quickly as a blink. It was as if in seconds we went from the stars of the state tournament to the embarrassments of it. I tried to forget the disappointment of it but it still will not leave. My desire and love to win games comes from the more apparent hatred of losing them. Junior year we had a chance to win a state championship, but we lost that chance. That was when I realized that I had one chance left to win. Senior year our basketball success would only be as rewarding as we would make it. The pressure placed on ourselves was substantial, and we faced trials on the road to success. In the end, we stood alone, crowned as the champions, not letting our chance slip away.

Counting down the seconds in a crowded dark hallway, listening behind doors to the song Welcome to the Jungle blasting in the gymnasium mixed with the sounds of the crowds roaring. The only thoughts going through everyone's head, is that this might be the last time we ever play together again. As soon as the song gets to the que we run out of the hallway under a tunnel made of arms, running into the moment that can make it or break it.

     The sport of volleyball was created by a man named William G. Morgan of Holyoke, Massachusetts in 1895. Morgan was a physical education teacher at the YMCA and called it "mintonette". It was an indoor or outdoor pastime that had characteristics of both handball and tennis. The first rules were written down by Morgan himself. He wrote that the game called for a 6 foot 6 inch net and a court of 25x50 feet. A match composed of 9 innings and 3 serves for each team in each inning. In case of a serving error they got a second chance just like in tennis. If the ball it the net

Basketball was my favorite sport growing up. I’ve played since I was little and I still play the game today. I played basketball at my elementary school, St. Cecilia, from Kindergarten till 8th Grade and also played AAU basketball for about 2 years before entering High School. Going into my freshmen year of High School, the first sport I played was basketball. Tryouts began in about the start of November and ended about 2 weeks after. I had made the Freshmen A team. I was excited and as the season progressed, we didn’t win many games but I still had fun playing. Nearing the end of the season, golf was another sport coming up that I also wanted to try and play. I say “try and play” because at the time, I was also going to play AAU basketball. I had set in my mind that I was going to play basketball for all of my four years of high school, but my parents pushed me to tryout for golf. When the basketball season ended, golf tryouts started. Tryouts lasted for about 2 weeks, and I made the JV team. When I found out I made the team, I was very surprised. I hadn’t put in the hard work as others before tryouts came around, but the coach saw potential in me and that I can become a great player. The coach saw so much potential in me, that every week, I kept progressing in skill and fine tuning my mechanics. Halfway through the season, about 4 or 5 weeks after I made the team, my coach gave me the chance to play with the Varsity Golf team for a couple days. I was excited and eager to

When I showed up to softball tryouts at the beginning of my senior year, I was convinced that I was going to be put on the junior varsity team for the fourth consecutive year. I was sure that I would never be moved up to varsity, regardless of how hard I played. My junior year I was embarrassed to be one of only two juniors on J.V. I was so self-conscious, that I had considered quitting so that I wouldn’t be the only senior not on varsity. However, I decided that quitting would be more humiliating than being on J.V. and forced myself to play my final season of softball. I showed up to tryouts the first week of school, and I played with every ounce of effort that I had. When teams were announced, I was legitimately shocked to find out that I

I graduated high school back in 1994. I was engaged to be married in just two years, and even though I joined the Pennsylvania Air National Guard right after graduation it was only one weekend a month and two weeks out of the year. So I needed a full-time job. A friend of the family knew a guy who was opening a second store, and was going to need a store manager. I took the job and got started. What I didn’t know was the guy I was just hired to work for was a little confused as to what he wanted. I hung onto the job for a little over a year hoping it would turn around but, no dice.

One failure in my life occurred when I tried out for my high school’s softball team. I had been playing softball for most of my life, and there would only be fifteen players trying out, enough to create a team without cutting anyone, so I got onto the team but found that I wouldn’t have a place on the field because another player occupied my position. So I spent the season figuratively on the bench rather than playing the game I loved.

began in grocery, since then I have worked as a deli/bakery clerk, a retail sales associate, and

As I sat there in a motionless position similar to that of the Thinker, I was reminded of the fundamental lesson of sports: There is no substitute for winning. People today often accept a misconception to about the value of losing. Losing sucks; there is no sugarcoating it. When an individual completely invests oneself to achieve a goal, anything other than victory can only be considered a failure. Once we realized our opportunity to reach, and in our minds likely win, the state championship, our whole season seemed like the rising action in preparation for a deflating anticlimax. We didn’t have to accept failure, but we had to accept the fact that we had failed. I had to accept the fact that I had failed. Somehow, there is a bitter form of beauty in that dedication to a goal, but even more, in the perseverance to continue.

In the novel life lessons:two experts on death and dying teach us the mysteries of life and living. The novel talks about many lessons such as

Sophomore year came, and I was nervous because now there was jv dark and varsity to worry about. I came to tryouts, and gave all my effort on volleyball as well as my friends. They had made the teams, and I never expected to be in jv dark. My best friends didn 't made it to jv dark but I couldn 't miss this opportunity. In addition, I was depressed that I could not be with them, but I needed to be in a team that I knew it was going to help me become better. It surely did because now there was more tasks that I could do. My serves were something no one could receive. Consequently, the only horrible part of jv dark is that I never had the chance to play. I came to practice everyday and I followed instructions, I never complained if we ran, but the coach never showed me that I could be in the court. I did showed her, I tried to show off my abilities in volleyball for her to notice. As a result to that she always put me aside. In effect of this, it brought me down I

My seventh grade volleyball team had a fantastic season. We had won every game except one leading up to the postseason. We were so successful since we worked well together. We exceeded in multiple areas on and off the court. After we won all of the Regional and Sectional games, we were headed to Tri-Valley on a

Here comes high school. My friends and I from middle school all went to the same high school, and played volleyball once again. The only difference between us was when I was on the B team they were on the A-team, and when I was sitting on the bench they were playing. We got to high school and things didn’t change, they were on JV as a freshman, and little old me was still on the freshman team. I decided that for the next year they weren’t going to be better than I am. I worked so hard the summer going to my 10th grade year.

It was mid sophomore year of high school when I started the job hunt. I applied

Volleyball, one of the world's greatest sports. From the hot and muggy gym, to sweat dripping down each players face, volleyball is not for the faint of heart. This sport requires a single-minded desire: to win. It takes more than just teamwork to win. Volleyball has always been one of my favorite sports. I would always meet a new friend anywhere I would go. Believe it or not these situations are how you could meet your life long best friends.