Less than a thirty minute window. That's all I got for today. But, I'm glad that I got this little creak of hope to express my literary brush on this electronic canvas of a medium. Well, I'm already more than halfway done with the semester and the tennis season! And I'm still alive and kicking. Well more alive than kicking, but all in all I'm surviving.
As I am accustomed to do with my academics, I really have not hit that point where I'm panicking about all the projects, essays, and presentations that I have to turn in. At least not YET. That point will undoubtedly come, but probably in a few weeks. I have kept a side note on my World Film class though, since it is full of busy, tediously, stupid work such as writing pages and pages of trivial notes that I simply do not have the time to do. Or at least at this point in my collegiate life, I do not care to do. Don't get me wrong, I like the class and love the professor when she's lecturing and all, but the work is for middle schoolers. Luckily, sticking to the middle school reference, she does offer a heap of extra credit work for those that are struggling with the notes, to turn in. So, that is where I am going to put all my marbles. Not trying to stress it. Plus, I think I killed that midterm. The rest of my scholastic itinerary is practically blemish free. Got a couple of midterms coming up. Sports Tourism tomorrow and Multicultural Psychology next Monday. But, again, I'm not sweating them. Thank God, Dr. Grace has been really lax on this psych. class, which is really out of her nature, but I am definitely not complaining. Kind of a curve ball, but I'll hit a homerun for sure. I can't believe I just referenced baseball. Please shoot me now. Haha, just kidding all you baseball lovers. I'm just not very fond of the sport.
Tennis-wise. Now, that has been an interestingly, exquisite rollercoaster. With six matches left in the regular season and ten matches in, the STU Bobcats stand with an 8-2 record and a 3-1 Sun Conference record. I am pretty damn proud of that, and proud of myself as well. Not feeling nearly as prepared as I should have been, with all the extracurricular activities that I was doing in the month of December and basically not touching a racquet and practicing the way I am used to until the second week of January, I feel really good about my performances in the season so far. If I were to compare the way I felt about my game from last season to this season, I was playing better last season. Better, but without fathoms of differences. Last semester I might of been more efficient, closing the door on matches more quickly and swiftly. This semester, I have had to grind out matches.
But, grinding matches out and coming out on the positive end of the stick is also a hell of a good feeling. Out of the nine matches I've played this semester, five of them have been three-setters. And, out of those five, I have won three, lost one, and was not able to finish one being 4-1 up in the third set. Driving home one night after getting picked up by my brother, he turns to me and says, "how the hell are you winning this season if you were playing much better last season?" He goes on and wryly apologizes, "my bad, but last season you didn't have that much shit to do and were more focused on your tennis."
I take a step back, and digest what he has just asked. And, the only real answer I can come up with is simply, "I've learned how to win ugly." Just like Brad Gilbert said it in his book. What really counts in the end is the "W." In my matches this season, I have not felt one hundred percent. I have double-faulted. I have gotten nervous and pulled up on my forehand. I have shuffled my feet the wrong way and felt out of position. But. The big BUT is that I have kept going. I have not let those mistakes get the best of me. Last season, if I was not feeling great on the court. In the zone it is said. I might have blamed a loss on that. That I was erratic or on my lack of execution. But, this season, especially in the three-setters, I have kept my cool and pulled the matches out. Scratching, gnawing, clawing at my opponents. But, I've learned exactly how to do that. To turn the odds back and stay with it. Tennis is a game of momentum changes. The ENTIRE match is like being at Six Flags. And, I have not thrown up after the big drop in the rollercoaster. I've sucked it up, and gotten up off the seat, dusted off my shoes, and raised my clenched fist in victory, letting out a "Let's go Bobcats!" Until next time, I gotta run to class! Fuck my life! Haha.
Though I may not agree with you in its entirety, I do feel that I should share with you something that I've noticed in terms of your improvement as a writer. You are a more fluent writer now and, therefore, you have created a more natural piece. Congratulations. This is why you should never stop writing Adrian! It's always a pleasure to read this blog. Later, peps! 'Till the next one!
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