[Biweekly Post]UC Prompt #2

If you would have asked me five years ago what my talents are, I would have told you that I was a decent singer. I spent the majority of my life in choirs at school and outside of school. I even made it into a city-wide advanced choir that hundreds of kids from ages eight and up auditioned for, but only 100 got in. Singing was my passion. I sang whenever I could along with whatever was playing. When I moved back to California the summer before ninth grade, I decided that I had spent too much time on that when I knew I wasn't going to go anywhere with it.

I began playing volleyball in high school - a sport that I had never tried before but that I instantly fell in love with. I played middle hitter. It was difficult and I was all over the place at first. Once I got used to it, it became second nature. I was ready for varsity. I was ready for people to notice me and to actually go somewhere with this sport. It's such a quick and competitive game. I could see myself playing it for a long time. Unfortunately, I didn't have a good sophomore year. My grades were not good enough at the beginning of my junior year to play. I remained a practice player and went to every game to do stats but I didn't get to actually play in a game until our team went to NCS. We got completely dominated by the other team. I didn't get many chances to do anything. I was planning on coming back with a vengeance and being the star player my senior year. However, I made the same mistake. My grades from the end of junior year weren't good enough for my to be able to play as a senior. I was devastated. I couldn't believe that I let it get so bad that I couldn't play the sport that I truly loved. As it turned out, it's better that I didn't play. I was able to get a job and focus more on schoolwork.

As of now, I don't know what my talents are. I don't really know if I have any unique ones that can get me somewhere that my overall personality can't. My endeavors from previous years shaped me in a way that I can't explain. They made me a more grounded person. They helped me really find myself and figure out what it means to be focused and to stay committed to something. Ironically, I had to break a couple commitments to learn that. Isn't that how things usually work out, though? I've been able to find myself and figure out what I really want through trying different things and going through a multitude of experiences. Although I'm sad in a way that I'm not going to become a well known singer or an accomplished volleyball player, I know that I have other attributes that will help me along the way to finding my true talents and what I need in my future.