Rebounder

      When I was 5 years old, I played basketball at a local church with an organization called Upward Basketball. I had a had super cool reversible jersey and high Nike socks, and size 4 Air Jordans. My hair was medium length and bright blonde from the Florida sun; it draped over my face like a thin and wavy mop. I was tiny compared to my competitors, which included boys, as it was a co-ed league. I was pretty good for my age, but my small size left me to develop a niche of talent: rebounds and lay-ups. I would wait under the basket ( "I won't steal the ball, I'll wait for the ball to come to me!") This was obviously a clever strategy, as there were few 5-6 year olds who could make a basket. Our scores were frequently in the 20's. Now, 16 years later, I would say one of my talents is still rebounding.

     I am the queen of self-sabotage and I rule the world of negativity. This would be awful if it were all the time, but thankfully it's not. I can be haphazard at times, and it leads me into a ditch of trouble. I'm really good at placing myself in situations in which I don't want to be in, saying things I don't mean, and making mistakes. But I'm also pretty good at picking up the pieces, after I've scattered them all over God's country. One thing I've noticed about how I deal with rough times is that I have to let it get really bad before I can remedy the situation. To the world, it may appear as if I have some combination of neurological disorders, but in reality I'm just coping with whatever life has thrown my way. I liken it to a controlled burn; I have to destroy everything to allow new roots to take place.

      My weakness is that I allow any of it to happen in the first place, but my strength is that I'm able to rebound and make things better than before. I can get really low, but I seldom allow it to last for too long. In the back of my mind, I know that when I hit a valley like that, a mountain is somewhere in the near future. I think that's what gets me through it; somewhere in my derailed brain is a clear track, leading me back to sensibility.

    You miss 100% of the shots that you don't take, and if you miss, you can always fight for the rebound. I may miss more baskets than I make, but I will fight like hell for that rebound.