Memory Vignette Assignment

“Error marks the place where education begins” –Rose in Lives on the Boundary

Today was the day that would decide my fate, or so it felt in the world of the 16-year-old junior that I was. Early in the morning someone posted the list of basketball players that made this year’s team. I walked down the hall to the bulletin board outside of the gym. My lungs involuntarily held in my breath, as my eyes quickly scanned the list for my name. No Katie Trenda on the list, I checked again, nope. My knees felt weak. My thoughts shattered into pieces then flew away like birds. The only thing I knew, as moisture collected in my eye sockets, was that I had to convince Dad to pick me up from school. I couldn’t even bear to walk down the hall towards the parking lot, let alone look at my former teammate’s faces. In the days following my rejection by the basketball program at Ponderosa High School, I learned something about myself. I was not an aggressive person. I couldn’t harness and execute anger towards the girl on the opposing team or towards that stupid orange piece of inflated rubber, also called a basketball. I wasn’t even sure I possessed anger that could be harnessed. I discovered that I am a passive and non-competitive person; better suited for individual sports like track. I also learned that I needed to trust God with the plans He had for my life. As much as I wanted to control my own destiny, I learned that it is in someone else’s hands. And that someone knew me better than anyone ever would. The helplessness I felt was so humbling. I learned to take my future plans and hopes and place them in God’s hands to deal with. This process was liberating and a great weight was taken off my shoulders. Today, I look back on this day and laugh because I can now see why God allowed this miserable day to happen. He didn’t want me to be on the basketball team, instead He taught me about myself and how to trust in Him.