From the first time I picked up a volleyball at my family barbeque, I fell in love with the sport. As soon as I saw the flyer in the hallway of my middle school I knew I needed to sign up. Since that day I have lived and breathed volleyball. I love every aspect of the sport. I love the mental challenge, the teamwork, and the physical talent. Fall became my favorite season because it meant volleyball season. I even joined a travel team to keep playing in the winter. Volleyball was always my number one priority, which meant pushing aside homework, not spending time with friends, and lots of training. Soon, volleyball became my whole family's life too. Whether traveling around the state to watch me play, raising money for the program, or practicing in the backyard, we were all devoted to my sport. I spent the summer before my junior year attending college camps and working with my coach as an outside hitter. I began talking to scouting agencies hoping to play college volleyball and even had dreams of playing professionally. I wanted to be the best volleyball player the volleyball world had ever seen. That August I received the worst news possible, at least that's what I thought at the time. I didn't make my high school's varsity team but could play on the JV team. My coach told me not to take it personally and that there were just too many seniors on the team for me to get enough playing time. I did, in fact, still take it personally. I played through the season on the JV team, but I felt defeated the whole time. My mom even had parents asking her "Where did Michaela's confidence go?" and telling her I "lost my spark". That was because I felt like the past five years of my life had been wasted. I gave up on ever playing in college and I didn't even want to play my senior year. However, I joined a travel team that winter that taught me so much more about what it means to be a volleyball player. I learned that even when you have a perfect set but hit it into the net, you can still get the next ball. I learned that just because you let a free ball drop, you still need to pick yourself up, figure out what went wrong, and not let it happen again. I learned you don't just play for your stats or the glory, you play for your team. So how will these lessons help me in college? I'm planning on becoming a doctor, a surgeon more specifically, which is no easy task. It's going to mean I will get knocked down, I will get a bad test grade, and I will want to give up. But thanks to volleyball I've learned to overcome that defeat and the mental block that accompanies it. I can take that bad test and study harder for the next one. I might not get into my dream program, but that doesn't mean I won't find a more suitable one. Most of all, I learned how to be a team player. As a doctor, I won't be working for myself. I'll be working for every patient that comes through the door and their families. Overall, the perseverance I gained from this will help me push through a long and vigorous journey to reach my goal of becoming a doctor. Although I couldn't see it at the time, I am grateful for that horrible August day.