Victory of the People | Teen Ink

Victory of the People

October 9, 2022
By Nicole0924 BRONZE, Hartland, Wisconsin
Nicole0924 BRONZE, Hartland, Wisconsin
3 articles 0 photos 0 comments

Nicole means victory of the people. According to Merriam-Webster, a victory is “an achievement or success in a struggle or endeavor against odds or difficulties.” Do I consider myself successful? 


“Not every victory shows up on the scoreboard” (Unknown). I understand this now, but I never used to. 


I have played volleyball for eleven years. When I was five years old, I practiced my serve by hitting the ball up on the roof for hours. When I was seven, I joined my first volleyball league. I served aces until the referee told me that I reached the limit and had to give the ball to the other team. When I was eleven, I made my first club team. We were the second team in the region. The next year, we were third. 


And when I was 16, I made the Arrowhead varsity volleyball team. The team that just won the state championship, two years prior.


From twelve hour travel days to volunteering on the weekend together, I have spent almost every single day with my volleyball team. We practice or play matches or tournaments nearly every day of the week. I set a goal for each practice and push myself mentally and physically to make progress towards that goal. 


I am on a team known for their victories. Making the team was a personal victory. Despite this, my role on the team this year is to cheer from the bench. 


But do I still consider myself successful? Am I victorious?


At the beginning of the season, our coach asked us to make a strength board. We had to pick a focus word for the season. I chose teamwork. But not in the sense of accomplishing a group goal. In the sense of making progress together and being a part of a team. 


It’s hard to feel a part of the team when my role is not a position on the court. If Nicole means victory, why don’t I feel victorious? I’m the black sheep, the ugly duckling, good enough to make varsity, but not good enough to play. I am the rain on a windshield; I’m a part of the thunderstorm, but I’m eventually wiped away and forgotten about. In the lush, Amazon forest, I’m underneath the towering trees and never see the sun. I’m a satellite, orbiting Earth, and my only job is to observe. 


But I would still choose to be in this group. 


 My name is a goal: to keep persevering in tough situations, stay positive, and make my own victories. I will be victorious for sticking with it through all the obstacles. Even if it doesn’t show up on the scoreboard. 


The author's comments:

I wrote this piece about the meaning of my name and my personal experience on my school's volleyball team. 


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