I’m sitting in a school bus full of 40 girls, my hands shaking and my stomach doing somersaults as I envision the race ahead of me. I watch myself scramble to pin my number on my shirt and run to the starting line. Waiting for the gun to go off, I contemplate not running. This happens every time I get on the starting line of a race, but I don’t back out because I feel the weight of a certain pair of leafy, vine-like earrings on my ears. Sometimes I wonder why I do sports at all if races make me feel this way, but sports also teach me to not run away from things that I’m afraid of, to be persistent, and to find a balance between kindness and competition. During sports I’m always wearing these earrings, so they have been with me for all my highs and lows, including the first race I got a medal and the first race I face planted into the snow. Due to this, I associate my feelings and growth in sports with these earrings and wearing them pushes me to do better.I wear these particular mini hoops when I know I have a difficult day ahead of me or something is making me feel nervous and overthink. When my discomfort rises like this, these earrings are a reminder to me that I can and have done difficult things before, which helps me feel more calm and confident.

– AS

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