It’s funny to say “today’s my off day”. It doesn’t feel like I’ve been doing much to deserve an off day.
I should be making the most of it: take a nap, continue my “Northern Exposure” marathon, look over programs, work on marketing for my business. None of this will happen.
I mentioned a month ago about Coach’s volleyball girls. One of these young ladies has been training with Coach for several months now and, due to her unique life story, she has a special place in my heart. She is currently suffering a loved ones final stages of illness, her first such experience. A few days before tryouts she became sick herself but she went and gave it her all. Tryouts were Monday and Tuesday, both days consisting of conditioning and skills. She was one of the best girls when it came to conditioning and, from what I hear, she was up there for skill work as well. She got cut. Today she was diagnosed with pneumonia. The last I heard from her mom, the doctor was talking about hospitalization. This girl is my new hero.
But she is young and thinks she is a failure. She thinks she let down Coach and the woman who was practicing skills with her. She doesn’t want to keep training. It is hard at that age, or my age for that matter, to understand that the end result is not the measure of our worth. Our heart and dedication, the way we carry ourselves on our journey, helping others when they struggle and sharing in their joy, getting up when life pushes us over, these things among many others determine our worth, our level of success.
She finished at the top with pneumonia wreaking havoc on her body. I had a head-to-head with her once and she cheered for me, her competition. She is sweet and kind. But, I have to admit, the poor kid lacks fight. Her mom and Coach will have their work cut out for them to help her find it.
I am just an interested bystander watching an amazing young lady experience a life moment. The mom once told me her daughter sees me as an inspiration, someone she looks up to. Maybe I do play a part in this story. Guess this Warrior Girl is going to have to toughen up a bit, stop whining about the hip, and set an example of how a Warrior gets beaten just to rise up stronger than ever.
Warrior Girl Lifting 
“But she is young and thinks she is a failure” this is a common thought I see these days in teens. It is frustrating. I volunteer with a youth outreach that aims for Middle-High school students. It saddens me how many young adults immediately give up on themselves these days when they have so much to live for. The pressures to good these days is way over the top. I wish kids could be kids again.
However, there are leaders like you that they look up to. They need to see us fail and pick ourselves back up and get back to work. Kids need people in their lives to show them we can’t always win. In an entitled society not everyone gets a trophy at life. That is where we come in and show them no matter how bad it gets, the no quit attitude far outweighs the person who quits.
Keep us informed of her progress in all that she endeavors to do.