Do you like sports? Which ones? How often do you play them? Have you given up any already?
I like playing sports, namely Badminton, Tennis, Swimming, and Dancing. What’s more, when I was in secondary school, I joined the school’s volleyball team. We were playing during recess, lunch hour, or after school every day despite the weather. The sunlight was never too strong, nor was the rain too heavy that it would make us skip playing it that day. We participated in many competitions, and won many prizes. We were so crazy about it. We always hung out for drinks after practicing or games as well. We chatted, made jokes, and laughed together. Having fun with teammates was the most enjoyable time for me, even more than the sport itself.
After graduating from secondary school, my teammates started to study overseas or were busy dating. We seldom met each other, and only played volleyball very occassionally. It’s a bit sad but inevitable. It made me think about developing another interest. Then I switched to playing Tennis. This sport is unlike Volleyball in that only two people can play the game. As long as I can find one person to play with me, I can do it. I also can hang out with teammates like how I used to do in the great old days. Luckily, I was soon able to find someone to play with and resume my social life again.
However, the good days didn’t last long. My Tennis friends were also beginning to move on to another stage of their lives – getting married and having kids. I knew I could either go find another sport like last time or find some new teammates. I was sick of myself being bothered by such problems again. Therefore, I asked myself what I actually wanted, and what was I actually worried about? Was there something that I was not aware of or I didn’t want to admit? Let me be honest. I was actually afraid of being alone and lonely. I desperately wanted to get rid of these feelings. So I made up my mind and put my big girl pants on – to find a sport that I could enjoy doing by myself. I picked running this time.
To make sure I wouldn’t fail, I made plans on running routes, and rehearsed the whole journey a thousand times in my mind. Various scenarios were popping up in my head, such as “What if it rained?” and “What if the park was too quiet?. I struggled for quite a while until I could pluck up the courage to begin my new journey…
Now I have been running alone for over 10 years, and I love it very much. I also join a 10km run competition every year. Today, I can tell you that running alone was not as “horrible” or “lonely” as I thought. In fact, I find that it is a quiet moment for me to enjoy the beautiful scenery along the journey. I can hear birds singing, notice flowers blooming and see people smiling at me as well. They are all my teammates. I am not “alone” anymore.
Do you have anything that you want to get rid of? It’s your turn to put your girl pants on. Don’t let such fear block your way. The beautiful world awaits you.
