"Ball is a Whole New Dimension" by Jeriyah Johnson

          The thrill. The excitement. The majestic feeling. The feeling of being complete.

          She never used to like basketball, and she was always the odd one out. It was weird though. Her dad played basketball; her mom played basketball. Even her little brothers played basketball. She always felt as if she wasn’t good enough to play or even try out for the basketball team, but she was tired of being the odd one out, so she tried it just to see how it would go. It went terrible.

          Her dad grabbed her by the arm and said, “Doing bad will always happen, but you can’t give up on yourself, especially when you’re just starting.”

          She remembered that speech, and it changed everything. When seventh grade basketball open gym started, she signed up to get more practice, learn new things, and get ready for the real deal.  She went to every single open gym there was to get better and never gave up on herself. Finally, the time came to try out for the school basketball team. It was right after school and she was very prepared. She felt like her hours of hard work paid off, but she was nervous because there were better people on the team.

          As she walked out of the middle school after tryouts, her mom yelled, “Jeriyah, how did you do?”

          “Um...I don’t really know,” Jeriyah responded.

          “Well, we will see if you make the team after the second round of tryouts tomorrow.”

          The next morning came and Jeriyah packed her basketball stuff together and left the house physically prepared, but not mentally. She could barely focus as her classes inched slowly by. Finally, it was time for the final round of tryouts.

          “Jeriyah you need to hustle down the court,” said the coach.

          “I can’t,” said Jeriyah.

          “Never say you can’t because you can!”

          She tried harder the next time and she felt good about herself. After tryouts, she felt sweaty, smelled a nasty stench, and all she tasted was a dry mouth from all the running. After a quick shower, she sat down and waited for the results.

          “Jeriyah!” her mom yelled, “You didn’t make the team.”

          “What? But I thought I did good?” she said sadly.

          “Sike! You made it,” Jeriyah’s mom laughed out loud.

          Jeriyah was so thrilled when she found out that she made the team, she called each and every one of her friends to tell them. Jeriyah was never a basketball person until she learned how to work hard and believe in herself. Now, she knows that she can accomplish anything.