Off The Courts

          Swish, I feel the racquet vibrating against my hand as I make contact with the ball. The adrenaline pumps through my body as I bounce on my feet, ready to move at a moments notice. The tennis court making you feel small and huge at the same time. People keep saying there is no other feeling in the world than this, and let me tell you. I am one of them. All your senses are honed into that tiny, yellow, fuzzy ball flying across the court.
        

         Tennis has always been a huge part of my life. I started playing when I was 6, and fell in love with it ever since. I remember the times when I would hit balloons in the air with my tennis racquet when I was young. I love tennis because it makes you feel small from the huge size of the court and powerful for when you swing at the ball as it flies. But most importantly, it makes me feel special.

         Before I moved to my current school, I was at a school with 30-40 kids in a class. It was hard to be noticed at my old school. I didn’t want to be popular. I just wanted to be unique in some kind of way and not be part of a crowd. Tennis was a way for me to be myself and find “a voice.” I remember when I started playing that I felt noticed. I never thought when I started playing, that it would affect me off the courts.

         Another thing that tennis is for me is that it is a way out of reality. When I play, I don’t have to worry about academics, or any issues I am facing. I am present when playing tennis. That became a really important thing for me as my academics grew harder. When times were stressful, I was able to play and forget for a short moment of the reality.

         Tennis has impacted my life forever. Even if I stop playing, which I never will, it would still affect me in my everyday life. It is a sport on and off the courts.