Honors and Awards

I have always been interested in tennis. I grew up going to tennis camps and playing with friends and family members. It is a fun activity that inspires physical fitness and overall health and well being. When I was 15 I attended a tennis camp at Texas A&M University that lasted for one week over the summer. I have always been a motivated person but I have never been the type to win awards for anything. Over the duration of this camp I tried very hard to improve my game and ended up diving on the court and sustaining a pretty severe injury. I was disappointed that I was no longer able to participate in the camp activities and felt that my sacrifice had not been worth it. On the last day of camp there was an awards ceremony to celebrate the accomplishments of the camp participants. As the ceremony grew to a close they handed out one final award. The award was called the "Aggie Spirit Award" and went to the camper who had shown exceptional passion and drive. They announced that the award for that week was to go to me due to my effort and competitive drive. In the grand scheme of things this award means almost nothing, but in that moment I felt validated like I had never felt before. You should never work hard and do your best with the expectation of an award, but it showed me that genuine effort can be rewarding in ways that may not seem immediately obvious.