Do what you love to do.

Volleyball is defined as a sport where a net separates the two teams of six players. And under set rules, each side attempts to score points by putting the ball on the court of the other team. It’s basic and common knowledge, it’s a definition for everyone. But what is volleyball for me?

Volleyball taught me a lot and brought me to different aspects of this world. Growing up, Basketball was my first sport and it was because of cultural and peer pressure. In a typical Filipino household, a son is expected to play basketball because this gives the father a sense of achievement and it ensures a father-son bonding for a life time. I was able to reach “Inter-Barangay” levels of leagues when I was still playing but a specific moment ignited my love for Volleyball. One cloudy afternoon, I was having a moment for myself in a multipurpose court in our local barangay. 

At that time, I was watching strangers play Volleyball and I felt a spark in my heart and eyes that I never experienced in playing basketball. Whenever the ball gets out of their way and ends up near me, I would run towards it and grab it for them. I was young and innocent. Instead of giving it back, I would replicate their moves. I would always try to spike the ball like I have knowledge in the sport. And in the following days, I would wait for the strangers to play again so I have the chance to grab the ball and “spike” it back to them. This routine went over and over again for how many days until one day, they finally wanted to know if who is this kid that keeps grabbing the ball for them. They asked if I wanted to join their game and my innocent but brave self ofcourse, said yes. Without knowledge, I went for it and as expected my recieves and hits would go in every direction except the target. A person stood up and asked me if I would want to learn. From then, everytime I play with Him he would give advices on how to do things properly. He was a little older than me and I always felt a sense of “authority” with him. Whenever his friends have trainings, I would come and learn. He is known to be a really good Volleyball player in our town. Few years after, we had to leave the town before the Pandemic. And I was only able to return a year ago. When we got to play again, he was very proud of what I’ve become as a Volleyball player and the achievements that I recieved.

The whole point of my story is that, It is always better to do what you love and not what the society dictates you to. Because of Volleyball I was able to enter semi-professional leagues and I always recieve invitations froms teams that wants me to be their guest player. It taught me how to fight in life and to see the good in every bad situations.  It made was a bridge for me to meetwonderful people that eventually became my closest friends. Volleyball also taught me camaraderie and importance of communication which you only learn through experience. Imagine who I am if Basketball was still my sport.has context menu