Perks . Part 5
Restored from the Empower Network archive (2011–2017), lightly edited to meet our current advertising standards. Views are the original author’s.
Continued from previous blog post
Perks
I enjoyed perks like, I was exempted from attending the Physical Education classes, which I found boring, so when my classmates were attending these classes, I was free to do whatever I wanted in school during that time. I can eat and watch my classmates, or sleep in the gym while everyone else were doing their own exercises. I can play basketball by myself in the gym where the P.E. classes were held at. Classmates would say “they’re envious” of the perks of being a varsity player and being popular.
And then I tell them what members of the varsity team would have to go through, in terms of time commitment and physical training, which was very rigorous. I had to stay in after school at the Gym for two extra hours, three times a week, and then on Saturdays, actually commute to school and train between 8 to 12 noon.. so if we do the math, that is 10 hours of rigorous physical training every single week. Muscle aches galore. And I did that all throughout high school. Add to that all the traveling the varsity team had to go through when we compete against other schools, as we represent our own school.
I remember though, how in all those competitions, how my parents have not attended, NOT ONE, of any of those events. (Sob, sob… but it was fine by me then, since they didn’t really want me to do sports, but I just said, “I got in, and it’s a big deal…” so I was on my own “sports world” by myself. I guess part of that was, “cultural” and generational, too. But one thought that came to my mind, even back then, that if I ever had a kid, I will be there for his or her games. I did that for my own kid.)
So the exemption from the P.E. class, was a form of rest for all varsity players. For the volleyball team, we were, I think between 12 to 14 Members, for the whole high school. And up to this day, I still don’t understand nor know how I got in. There were about 6 Sections in each batch, about 25 students per class = about 150 per batch… x 4 years of high school… there were about 600 students in my entire all girls’ private high school.
So, let’s say average of 13 members in the varsity team, composing of members from the freshman year, sophomore, junior and senior… the Volleyball varsity team was 0.02167% of the entire high school population.
And I was part of that 0.02167% percent.
And I have not ever done that math before… it’s just now, because I wondered. 🙂 I was lucky I got into the Team, but I guess it was more about the coaches seeing the value in me, even before I saw the value in myself and what I can do. Because back then, I didn’t feel very valuable. Other people might see it, might treat me as valuable, but now in hindsight, I know and understand that it doesn’t really matter in the scheme of things and life, if people see or NOT see the value in us.
We have to FIRST believe there is value IN us, for ourselves.
We have to FIRST see our own value.
The right way, the proper way.
Continued on next blog post
Related Articles:
The Basics . Part 1
Final Answer . Part 2
Varsity . Part 3
Clique . Part 4
Perks . Part 5
Complex . Part 6
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