Hardships and challenges are important in life; they mold who we are and how we react. Learning to fight through hard challenges and having internal fortitude is crucial to growing as a person. My family taught me as a child that once you start something never quit, and having a great work ethic will get you through almost anything. These lessons I have taken to heart very seriously. I gave up everything for volleyball. I found out that my skills weren’t the issue, but it was my lack of confidence in myself, not only as a player but also as a person. I joined club teams and excelled. I pushed myself the hardest I ever had, and in my sophomore year, I was pulled up to varsity after my teammates and coaches were shocked by my improvement. As my junior year started, I was doing exceptionally well and was playing the whole time in all of my games. Everything was escalating until I noticed my health started declining. I started feeling worse as the days went by, and I started completely fainting. When I fainted in the biggest game of the year, we had to take action. After an incredible amount of doctor appointments, specialists, and tests, I was diagnosed with POTS. This condition meant that my brain was sending the wrong signals to my body causing my blood to pool to my feet, which caused me to faint. There was no cure for this disorder, and I would probably not be able to play sports my senior year. We didn’t know what to do. I started feeling sick daily in school, which caused me to lose focus. As an attempt at a cure, I started neuropathic therapy. We were shocked as the therapy I went through retrained my brain and body to function properly, and it took only two months to start working. After I started gaining my health back, I was recruited for a high-level travel volleyball team that traveled all over the Midwest. This was the first time I had played since my junior year, and I had excelled. Currently, I’m in my senior year of my school season. I’m the starting middle for my team and have had lots of recognition from peers, past coaches, and teammates. The main lesson I learned from volleyball is that when things aren’t easy you have to work for them, which makes the outcome more rewarding. Hard work and determination pay off. I did all of this work myself because I was the one who wanted it the most. Throughout being diagnosed with a life-altering disorder, I pushed through and never gave up. I strive to build and improve the trust, confidence, and performance of my team. Volleyball has taught me that nobody is responsible for me. I was the toughest opponent I would ever face, and no matter what problems I faced, I would never quit. This lesson will propel me through life better to best handle hardships and celebrate success, just like I did when I won that game for my team on that fateful day.