Somewhere in my garage, there is a deflated soccer ball, a tennis racket with strings detached, a softball glove surrounded in cobwebs and a pair of ice-skates four sizes too small.
Growing up in a suburban city at a small, Catholic school, there were certain things that were socially suggested. My parents wanted me to be as happy as I could, and needless to say they signed me up for every activity that you could possibly think of. I played (and failed) soccer, basketball, skating, swimming, sailing, gymnastics, golf, dance, tennis, softball and more. This extensive list is nothing to be ashamed of. At 10 years old, however, I thought it made me a social outcast. My friends would all talk about how excited they were about the basketball game that night, but all I could think about was how to get out of playing altogether. I was ashamed of myself for not scoring for the team, scared for how my peers thought of me and nervous about if there was something wrong with me. But why?
The day my dad sat me down and told me I didn't need to play sports to be his daughter was one of the happiest days of my life. I thought that somehow, even though he loved me unconditionally, he was mad that I couldn't do what I thought he wanted me to do. But I was wrong. No matter what, he supported me, and sports did not have to be his way of doing so. Society made me think that there was something wrong with me because I didn't successfully belong to a team, even though it's legitimate to do something else.
When I found theatre everything just clicked. That's what it is supposed to do. You shouldn't force yourself to love something that you clearly aren't made for. You should love what you do, not try to get out of it every single day.
As I grew up, I realized this was problematic. People just like me spend their days wondering why they aren't good enough, when they clearly are. It is so formulated in American culture to treat athletics as an end-all for social activities. This is not to say that I think athletes are not legitimate. Plenty of my friends are incredibly dedicated to sports and I firmly support their passions. My passions are just a little different than theirs, and that should be okay in our culture.
Life isn't measured by how many goals you got in soccer, or how many lead roles you've had in a musical. Life is measured by happiness, passion, and a dedication to the things you love. Whether that be sports or art shouldn't measure your worth in today's culture. If everyone played sports, there would be no inventors, artists, scientists and more. If everyone had the same interests, there would be no color in our black-and-white world.
Do what you love, and love what you do. At the end of the day, you're the one who can control your happiness with your passions, not everyone else's.
