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Elizabeth Lambert

Fetterman

English 4

25 August 2023

Two out of Three

I heard my starting weight get called. I raised my hand and walked over to the chalk. It felt

soft and comforting. I stepped onto the platform and squatted down to the bar. I pulled the

weight, and my mind went blank. I felt the cold hard metal hit my shoulders, where bruises

would be formed by that night. I waited for the right time and inhaled a breath of sweat and

chalk. A yell escaped my mouth as I pushed what felt like a thousand pounds over my head. My

legs were shaking, but I knew I had to watch the judges for the down call. I looked in the crowd

to see my mom recording me, I smiled at her. I glanced back at the judges just as they yelled

down. I felt as if the air had gone ridged. They gave me a thumbs up as to a good lift.

I was a junior attending Cardinal Mooney High, and this was my third year on the Girl’s

weightlifting team. We were at Lemon Bay High School for a meet. I wasn’t scared, I was just

nervous I would let myself down. I got my first attempt and had my other two left. I failed my

second attempt, and I had to put on weight for my last attempt. Since you’re not allowed to move

your weight down, you’d reattempt the same weight. I asked the coach what I should go for, and
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he said “Just do what feels right”. I decided to move up five pounds. I did my routine, and I got

it.

Normally, most people can’t move up after they fail. A few weeks later, at another meet

, it happened again. My coach said that it was a miracle and that he’d never seen this before. I

never thought that the things I do would impress anyone. People always ask me, what pushes me.

Things I love push me to do better. During practices, I’ll most definitely have my headphones on

either listening to my workout playlist or a specific artist.

Entering high school, I knew I wanted to join a sport. I tried out for volleyball because it was

a hobby for a very long time. It sucked, and I ended up having an asthma attack halfway through

the warm-ups. My hopes were in the trash, but then there was an announcement for a

weightlifting sign-up meeting that Thursday. So Thursday rolled around, and I was excited. I

almost ran to the room it was being held in, pushing past the kids trying to leave campus. The

room was loud, filled with senior and junior girls all there for the same reason. I was the only

freeman. The first team meeting finally ended, and the first practice was the next Monday. I had

no idea that joining a sports team freshman year would affect my life.

My confidence skyrocketed. It almost had to, since I’d be standing in front of judges in a

skintight singlet. It made me love myself more, and over the years, it grew and grew. My

strength grew as well. This helped me overcome comments from over the years, about my

weight, height, face, and even my voice. It made me, me again.

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