8th Grade Rites of Passage Essay Example

It was August 2019, my family and I had just moved to Signal Mountain, TN. I was soon beginning school and was looking to be involved in a sport once again. Before moving, when I lived in Puerto Rico, Oklahoma, Kansas, and Virginia, I had been a soccer player. Ever since I could walk, I was kicking the ball around. When I was 7, I played on a 9-10-year-old team, in third grade, I played on a fourth-fifth grade team, and when I was in fifth grade I decided to try out for the 6th and 7th-grade varsity team. I had played soccer my whole life and it was a big deal to me. 

Fifth graders were allowed to try out but, it was not likely to make the varsity team. It was three days of tryouts after school. It was nerve-racking but, I thought I performed well.  After the try-outs, about a week later, I saw that I made the team! I was amazed and proud of myself, I started to realize that I was good and could become a great soccer player. It was a lot of practice, games, and hard work. 

I adored soccer but once it got serious, I started to get bad anxiety. I would always be nervous that I wasn’t good enough or that I would mess up in front of my parents or family. I started to not do so well on the field because I was so scared that I wasn’t doing good enough. All the girls on my team were so much bigger and taller than me and I didn’t want to be the weak link. I felt like a little kid playing against teenagers. I was just as good as them but everyone else was so tall which intimidated me. 

Eventually, the soccer season was over and a few months later we moved to Signal. After a few weeks, once we got settled, my parents immediately started looking for soccer teams and started suggesting some to me. They suggested some after-school clubs that way I could try out for the signal mountain middle school girls varsity soccer team. Little did they know, I had something else on my mind. My whole life I was always an athlete, I was good at any sport I tried. 

I just had good genetics and loved to be active. I had always loved to be flipping around doing cartwheels, round-offs, backhand-springs, anything you could imagine. I loved gymnastics and watching the Olympic girls on TV. I wanted to be them, I wanted to be as good as them, and I wanted to be able to flip just like they could. 

I had done gymnastics clubs and teams but they had never seemed to work out for me. They would either be too easy or too short. We did live in Puerto Rico at the time so, there were not many places around. Once we got to Tennesee I told my parents what I wanted to do. They knew my passion and said yes. 

Quitting Soccer did seem like I was throwing away a life-long sport but, I also felt good starting the thing I had wanted to do for so long. I had to look for a place where I could start gymnastics. After researching, I found the Signal School of Physical Education Gymnastics Team. My parents called and got me scheduled to come in to try out and see what level I would be placed in. I on the other hand was shooting to make the team. 

The team was hard to get into and was seven hours a week but, I was willing to put in the effort. The day came to try out, I was ready but nervous at the same time. I came into the gym, had a good attitude, gave it my all, and in the end, I felt like I performed pretty well. After the class was over, Mrs. Charity, the owner of the gym said that I would be placed in Xcel Silver! This was amazing!

I was so excited and overwhelmed with joy! Not only did I make the team but, I made Silver which was the fourth-highest level! This was outstanding, I was off to a great start and I was ready to work hard! Since then, I have been progressing and learning more and more complicated skills. I have moved up to Xcel Gold and will be on to Xcel Platinum next year. 

I am glad that I followed my passion instead of continuing something that was not making me happy. You should always follow your passion no matter what!