YOLO

479 words

 

Recently, I came across a picture of me and my sister on our family vacation spelling YOLO with our hands. We were on the balcony of our hotel with an amazing view of the ocean. As I looked out into the rolling waves and, I must admit, checking out the life guards, I realized we were experiencing something that I will never forget. There were many things that I declined to participate in to go on this vacation but in my opinion, it was worth it. I got to experience things I had never experienced before with people I love.

YOLO. I’m pretty sure that anyone reading this knows what it means. But just in case you don’t, it stands for You Only Live Once. There are a lot of interpretations of the phrase. Some people think that you can use it for an excuse for doing something stupid. Others say YOLO means, go out, get drunk, and party yourself sick. YOLO. For some it means be reckless because you don’t get another chance.  But for others, it may mean that you put your whole heart into what you are doing. To me, YOLO means you only have one life so get as much out of it as you can. At least I think that’s what Mae West meant when she said, “You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough.”  

For example, I am on my school’s JV volleyball team and I am also the Drum Major for my high school marching band. I love both things and both activities give me the chance to reach out and help others to reach their full potential. My schedule may be like dominos, with one thing leading right into the next, but I am getting the most out of my day.  

Another example is my friend and her parents decided that this past summer they were going to climb Mount Kilimanjaro. She is also a volleyball player but she committed all her time to training for the climb. How many of you can say that? I know I can’t! My summer consisted of volleyball, church, and marching band. I wouldn’t have had time to do anything like that.

I think that YOLO should be changed to YOHOC (not sure how you would say that though…..) to stand for You Only Have One Chance. You only have one chance at life right? Unless you are one of those people who say they died, went to heaven, pushed the return button, and came back, we all only have one life here on earth. So why would you waste that on partying or doing really stupid things that could jeopardize the long life you could have.

So basically what I’m trying to say is YOLO is making the best out of every day, no matter what circumstances you’re given.

 

~Skooogster(:

Me: The LIttle Shot

So this first post is supposed to be an "about me" post. Unfortunately for me, this is tough. I've never been one to bring attention to myself. I've always been that girl that hid in the shadows of other people; never anything special. I was just me: a weird girl with a whole lot of problems. Nobody expected me to become anything spectacular in years to come. Doctors told my parents not to expect an athletic or academic future and to not be surprised if I continued to stay in the back of the class hoping no one sees me. Quiet as I was, I would never take no for an answer. If someone said that I couldn’t do something, I did whatever I could to prove them wrong.

In third grade I started doing vision therapy and occupational therapy to turn my future around. The therapy was emotionally and mentally exhausting and painful. Trying to get your eyes to work together is not an easy task. People that haven’t experienced it have no idea what-so-ever the amount of effort it takes to do this. But I was determined to get better.

At the time, I was going to a small private school. They didn’t have the resources I needed at the school so my family had to make accommodations for me. By the time I was in fifth grade, I was beginning to become more normal, you could say. I still wasn’t very coordinated, which showed as soon as I started volleyball, but other things were improving. As I continued to progress, I became more aware of the fact that my classmates had known me my whole life and new what kind of person I was and had a hard time accepting the new me. Before, I was totally oblivious to any judgment but as sixth grade came around, I just wasn’t happy anymore. That’s when I decided to transfer to public school.

Transferring was one of the best things that happened to me. I had a couple friends there and I knew they weren’t the kind to judge and everyone else had no idea of my past. I could start on a new, clean slate.  I’ve made amazing progress since then. I went from being the girl that was told I couldn’t do sports or be very smart to being a volleyball player on high level teams, being an honor roll student, and being the Drum Major of my marching band. I have been recognized as a leader by many teachers which goes to show that I am no longer that girl that sits at the back of class trying to be invisible.

So that’s just a little bit about me. I’m not a big shot; I’m a little shot that keeps shooting. Still, to this day, I’m not catching peoples’ eye as ‘an amazing athlete’ but I never give up. If I’m faced with a tough situation, I don’t give up, I figure out how to climb the wall and keep going.  

 

~Skooogster(: