Dear moms/dads of the world,
Inspiration happens from anywhere. For me, it happened somewhere between the Olympics and the Paralympics. It took me back to my days in high school. I may have been the least sporty person in my class. Though that was until I got to 9th grade.
I started noticing how forty-five minutes of being on the field was doing me good. I was becoming agile, more focused and so what if I couldn’t make the basketball team. I couldn’t run too fast because of my flat feet. However, a little later in 9th grade, I was introduced to the world of athletics courtesy my sports teacher. He told me about the various activities I could check out and be part of.
There was so much to choose from shot put, discus throw, Javelin, hammer throw etc, the works. The best part, I could try my hand at anything and after, I would be allowed to take some time during school hours to practice till the interschool competitions. I chose shot put as my first preference followed by javelin and discus throw.
For a person who didn’t make it into the basketball team, this proved to be very uplifting and a fun thing to do. In fact I loved it so much, that I realized I had a competitive side and I was determined to go from being a beginner to being in the schools’ Top 5 athletes. During the shot put matches, I was always competing with my seniors missing by an inch until I crossed that bridge and got to the top. I ended up representing my school at a regional level interschool competitions.
Sometimes I wonder what would have happened if I was introduced or pushed into sports at an earlier age, like I pushed my kids.
So what am I saying through this entry? That every child needs a little bit of sports in their life because it changes you as a person, it makes you so much more focused, healthy, agile and diligent. It brings out the competitive side which are all the right traits your child needs while growing up and more so, because it makes you feel alive!
