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Kylee Phillips

Mrs. Cramer

College Comp Pd. 2

1 October 2021

College Application Narrative

Hallmark movies have always been what I wanted life to be. The perfect, simple, lovely

lifestyle that every main character of those movies lived. Surprise, if you didn’t already know,

life is nothing like a Hallmark movie. Life is full of challenges at every turn you take, like when

I broke my arm, got put in timeout in preschool, or failed a test for the first time, but as I’ve

gotten older the challenges have become longer term than before. It was seventh grade year when

my friends and I all decided to try out for the volleyball team. The memories I have from my

years of playing with my friends, are some that I will cherish forever. I never played the sport

because I was going to be a Division One athlete, but because it was something that helped form

and bond the relationships I have with my friends.

Then came high school and the new coach. For the purpose of this essay, we will call him

Coach Joe. You see, Coach Joe made it extremely apparent whose company he enjoyed and

whose he did not. I was continuously a part of the did not group. This made my love for the sport

begin to fade as early as the first practice we had freshman year. However, I kept playing

because of my friends and because I wanted to share those memories with them. Come junior

year however, the neglect evolved. Rather than the typical speaking and being ignored, I walked

into the first practice of my junior year and was told that I was a member of my friends’ team,

but I was not allowed to practice with them. The feeling that came over me having to walk away
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from my friends was one of the saddest things I have ever experienced. The rest of that week I

spent every day dreading going into that gym because the sadness overwhelmed me every time. I

began questioning my own self-worth. I was raised with the attitude that you determine your own

happiness and that you must choose yourself when you feel defeated. So, that was exactly what I

did. August 23rd was the last day I ever played high school volleyball. If I learned anything from

this experience, it’s that sometimes its ok to choose yourself. I could’ve continued feeling

defeated every day in an environment where I was supposed to feel uplifted, or I could make the

decision to leave and heal. Healing was the best decision I made, and while reflecting I realized

how much happier I am without the negativity. Life is too short to waste it trying to impress

other people, so you must learn to live for yourself.