High School Experiences

Essay

So far, my high school experience has been one of many choices being made. Throughout these past three years I have had to make many choices, many of which have impacted my relationship with my friends, teachers, and coaches. However, no decision was harder than one I made this year in this past soccer season.

This decision was not exclusively my own but one I shared with my father. This dilemma involved pulling me, the captain of the varsity soccer team off the team because of a problem between the coach and me. My father came to this decision because the coach was using me, whom he had made a captain and a focal point of team, as a scapegoat for the team’s losses and hardships. This was a very tough, and complicated situation in which myself. This decision to leave the team, a group of my friends, was probably the most difficult one for me to make; however, I feel it was a good one. Despite the fact this decision was not exclusively mine, I still feel that my father looked out for my best interest and I am grateful for that.

Though this decision was difficult, it did open many other doors for me. I refused to dwell on the fact that all I had worked hard for had been taken away from me in one fell swoop. Instead, I tried to show resiliency and bounce back by joining clubs and making the honor roll. Even though I had achieved success on the soccer field as a player, it was not a healthy situation in which to keep myself in. Although I am a person who has always been able to take criticism, my coach’s behavior and words had degenerated to a level where it was affects my own self - respect and dignity. Both my dad and I agreed that we could not allow this to happen.

After I left the team, I contemplated whether or not my father and I had made the right choice or whether I should have abide by my dad’s decision or go against it. It came down to a talk with the Athletic Director that further persuaded me to stay