“Woohoo!! Did you see that?!” The excitement in Alec’s voice boomed through the gym as he finally served the volleyball over the net after multiple tries. I smiled and gave him a thumbs up from my position on the corner of the court. “Look at me go! That was a great serve!” The pure joy in Alec’s voice and the overwhelming sense of pride that he displayed as he cheered behind the service line plays over and over again in my head when I walk back to serve in my own volleyball games.

These past two volleyball seasons, our coaches announced to the team that rather than fundraising, we would be volunteering for the Special Olympics volleyball tournament. I was thrilled to hear that I wouldn’t have to go around selling tubs of cookie dough, but rather spend a few hours in the gym and be done. It turns out those few hours I spent in that gym meant much more to me than just doing community service for the volleyball team.

I walked through the doors of Hersey High School and was shocked by the amount of energy present in the gym. There was cheering, encouraging words, and clapping. A simple pass to the setter, something so mindless to me, was something to be celebrated. I was amazed that a ball passed ten feet away from the setter was considered a great pass, rather than a mistake like my teammates or coaches would think in our own games.

The Special Olympics Volleyball Tournament participants taught me a great deal about counting my blessings and never taking anything for granted. Whenever I’m beginning to feel tired or defeated at volleyball, I remind myself how much those kids would give to be in my position, running around at an exhausting practice or playing in an intense game. Keeping that thought in the back of my head motivates me to push through practice, not only to do it for myself but do it for the kids that would love to be able to experience the way that I’m feeling in moments like those. This attitude isn’t present only when I’m on the court, but in other daily activities as well. Of course school can get frustrating when it feels like I have hours of homework in every class, but in reality, I am so blessed to be able to comprehend that type of information and take difficult, advanced placement classes.

In general, I have learned that life really is all about perspective. It’s amazing how changing one’s perspective can make everything seem so much better than it may have originally appeared. While I love to participate in various service activities, I have never felt as rewarded as I did after volunteering for Special Olympics. I truly believe that it has changed my mindset going into many situations. I think volunteering for Special Olympics is something that someone could only benefit from, and something that I will certainly continue to do.