It’s ok to just like it

For her last year of middle school Aviva Diva has been on the after school recreational volleyball team. It has brought her so much joy and has been used as an avenue to relieve some teenage stress.  Every Monday and Wednesday you would find her on the volleyball court suited up in her informal uniform and ready to play.  Her disappointment when they lost didn’t deter her from playing and when her team won it gave her a sense of pride and increased her confidence.

At the end of this school year, she decided that she wanted to try out for the high school volleyball team this summer. She thought she knew exactly what to expect.  Ya’ll, she had no idea.  Daddy Jay-0 and her went to the interest meeting and came back with two packets, in addition to emails outlining even more information.  High school volleyball is serious.  There are solo summer workouts, in addition to weekly weightroom workouts.  The team coach even suggested they sign up for additional practice by joining a summer volleyball league. She said to me, “Mom, I got to practice and do the workouts.”  I would always reply, “Well, if you want bad enough, you’ll do it.”  Summer vacation began and she had only one workout and said that she didn’t think she could do it.  I kept reminding her that she could, but that she had to prioritize her day so that she could make time to practice.

Eventually, she realized that although she liked volleyball, she didn’t love it.  She liked it enough to dedicate time to play after school but did not love it enough to put in the practice time for the high school team tryouts. If you know her, anything that she really wants to do that she loves, she’ll put forth every effort.  I’m just proud of her for realizing that it’s ok to like something and not necessarily love it.  She ultimately saved herself a lot of time, time that she can put towards what she really loves.