Portfolio 1: Why We Tell Stories

The story that my friends and family always tell about me is the time I saved my elementary school's volleyball team from losing our first game. It was in the seventh grade against Corpus Christi, our rivals in volleyball. We had a great team at St. Joseph's Elementary. We had never lost a game since we started playing in the fourth grade, including all the games we played in optional tournaments. Corpus Christi really wanted to beat us this year since we were the CYO volleyball champions the year before. Both teams played their best, but at the end of the third game Corpus Christi was up 14-13, meaning one more point and they would win the game. It was our serve, and it was my turn. My mom was the coach, and I was waiting for her to sub me out for one of the people who could do over hand serves, but she never did. I was a decent server, but my serves weren't very strong and occasionally didn't make it.
All the pressure was on me, one miss and our years of being undefeated would be over. I remember I took it one serve at a time, taking a deep breath before each one. The atmosphere was so tense, there wasn't a sound in the gym except some of the girls on my team who were crying, thinking there was no way we could win. Miraculously, all three of my serves went over, all aces. We had one the most difficult game of our volleyball lives.
After the game I asked my mom why she kept me in, there were other players who were much more likely to have made those serves. She told me that although my serves weren't as strong, she knew that I was the best one to handle all that pressure. "There is no other player I would have rather had take that serve." After the game, Saint Joseph fans came up to me and said, "You were so calm! Your deep breaths were the only thing that kept me from bursting from all the tension!" I think my friends and family tell this story about me because it is one of my strongest traits. I can always remain calm and get my job done under pressure. It's one of the things they value most about me, that when everything seems to go wrong I can keep a clear head. This story clearly shows one of my strengths, and I think they tell it so much because they want others to see why they value me so much.