Confidence: What Tennis Has Taught Me

I am a very insecure person. I'm just gonna put that out there. But among the many other things the game of tennis has taught me, confidence is one of the most important.

I don't dress wildly, I don't take huge risks, and I don't call people out. Except when I'm on a tennis court. Something about tennis wakes up the part of me that I would like to be 100% of the time. That's why it has become so important to me.

Tennis matches surround the decision of when to take risks. If you don't time your shot right, your ball sails out of the court and people will yell "Homerun!". But when you do hit that perfect shot, and trust me you can feel it when it comes off of your racquet, you and your ball are untouchable. You have to be confident enough to go for that shot. In "real life" I would never sit among a group of people I don't know or wear that striking outfit to school, even though those risks can be very rewarding.

This weekend I played a match with more than the normal amount of drama. In my doubles match my partner aimed a perfect overhead at our opponents and we won the point to make it 40-30. The next point I called a ball out that our opponents didn't agree on. When questioned, I stood my ground and even raised my voice at the other players. How dare they question my eyesight and my honesty!! They called a ref on me and he agreed with my call. So we win that game right? Nope. Our opponents claimed that they were up 40-30 the last point (which they weren't), so we had to go with the rulebook and back to the score that we could agree on which was 30-all. We ended up losing the match, which should have been a lot closer if not for that horrible scoring, and I found myself talking to my partner (loud enough for my opponents to hear) that at least WE know how to keep score.

In comparison, when given the perfect opportunity to let one of my friends know how I really felt about being left out lately, I let it pass because I was too scared of a confrontation. Yet I could yell at these girls and assert myself on a tennis court. It's crazy.

I just wish I could be half as independent and confident off the court as I am on the court. Or even when I'm around my "tennis friends" from other cities. For some reason I'm not as afraid to be outgoing and confident around them as I am around my other friends. And I literally have no idea why. I'm trying so hard to become more confident but it's so hard.

But I like to think I'm making progress.

xoxo,
Rachel

"A tiger doesn't lose sleep over the opinion of sheep."

Kindness

Today was not a good day.

I've felt really disconnected from my friends lately, and it kind of all hit me at once tonight along with some really terrible news about someone I knew in middle school.  Being tired and grumpy at the end of the day usually does not help my attitude either.

So now I'm sitting here on my bedroom floor mad and upset trying to figure out how to confront my problems when I realized that being angry and retaliating will not solve anything.

Yes, going off on someone via text message might feel good a the moment, but about five minutes later I know I will regret it. Instead of responding with rage, I need to, for lack of better wording, kill 'em with kindness.

While being kind is not always the easiest route to take, it's always the way with less fallout. I personally want to leave behind a legacy of love and life, and not of things I said in a hotheaded rage.

Life is way too short, unexpected, and far too important to make yourself or anyone else unhappy, so I am going to try my absolute hardest to treat everyone I come across with the kindness that they deserve. You never know what inner demons someone is fighting, and your kind words just might be their saving grace.

With a heavy heart,
Rachel

"And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you." 1 Peter 5:10

Make Do

There has been so much buildup to this summer... Spending whole days at the pool, parties and sleepovers with my friends at night, a killer tennis run. But so far none of that has happened. At all. All I've done is work at the tennis camp at the club and watch movies on Netflix by myself.

This past weekend though I went to a Zac Brown Band concert which was awesome, and there are some more exciting things coming up soon like the Cutbait music festival this weekend and Younglife camp in Crooked Creek Colorado next month, but so far I have been a bit disappointed with my summer vacay.

I think all of these 80s romance movies are starting to get to my head. A hot guy at work is not going to fall in love with me (Dirty Dancing) and nobody is standing outside of my window serenading me with a boombox in the near future (Say Anything), so I'm just going to have to make do.

This week I challenge you, and myself, to make the most of your week (and summer) even if it's not as exciting as you'd hoped.

xoxo,
Rachel

Oh, I wanna swim in the sunshine,
And every day find a way to face my fears.
Oh, wanna get in the wind.
Gonna take every chance I'm given,
Feel the wind through the open plains.
Freedom is a gift, get livin.
Go chase that sunset highway down,
You got to get uncaged!

            -Zac Brown Band