I remember hearing “Got it!”, “Got it!” “Ahhhhh ACE!” And then with borderline panic rising up in me…I realized I was up next. It was the middle school volleyball game where I had been happily chit chatting with my friends and watching them win against the competition. The panic set in when I remembered I was part of that team and that it was my turn to get on the court and play. That was the longest volleyball season. Ever.
Like most kids at that wonderfully awkward age I was trying to find my place of where I fit in, where I could learn + grow. And as you might guess, it was not in organized sports.
Maybe it was the lack of friends free and available after school or living a little farther from town. Whatever it was, I found myself spending more and more time in my parents basement sewing. It was here, in the process of seeing inspiration, getting an idea, designing a prototype, making adjustments and creating an end project, that I thrived. I loved, and still do, the whole messy process. And what I can see now is that this is where I was learning and growing in ways that would stick with me long after those awkward years had passed.
Although I didn’t have daily practice times to get together with my friends or weekly scheduled games to get motivated for I was still able to find my place of fitting in, learning + growing…it just looked a little different.