Personal Statement
There is nothing quite like it. The rush of the game, the excitement that comes with every successful shot, the feeling of being part of something that resembles a family more than it does a team. For the better part of my life, basketball has been a defining aspect of my personality, and it has provided me with a source of strength, fostered in me a strong sense of discipline and taught me a lot about working as part of a team. I’ve had the great fortune of playing as a point guard for the Greek national team and for Olybiakos -the national champions. I remember when I first started playing and felt that I would never be able to perform as well as my older teammates. I was so afraid of failing that I was hardly trying. However, after my coach spoke to me about the importance of perseverance, my attitude changed completely. I came to realize that, while there may always be players who are better than me, that should never hold me back from trying to achieve my full potential. As the ancient Greek saying goes: “the enemy of good is better”, signifying that it is often our fear of being unable to achieve perfection that holds us back from achieving greatness. Upon coming to this realization, my older teammates began to serve as a source of inspiration, rather than intimidation. Over the years, I continued to persist and train hard and eventually came to realize that I was achieving concrete progress. Eventually I no longer needed to imitate my teammates; I began to develop a style of my own and I found my place in the harmonious movement of the team throughout the course of the game. In the last two years, my teammates bestowed an even greater honor upon me: that of choosing me to be the captain of our team and the MVP. In my capacity as such, I have had to navigate the complexities of teamwork, to figure out how to encourage my teammates after losing a game and how to inspire them in anticipation of the next one. Most importantly, I have developed the capacity to listen, to always pay attention to the comments and fears and complaints of my teammates and to strive to find a solution to any problem that may arise. I have come to the great realization that my position is not to lead by having the loudest voice; it is to lead by harnessing the energy and extraordinary capacities that each of my teammates bring to our group. Basketball came to signify even more for me when I found a way to combine it with another one of my passions: community service. A few years ago, I started volunteering with my team in community centres that provides support for children that suffer from a broad range of misfortunes, including illness, loss, or traumatic experiences. After meeting some of the young kids there, I decided to organize a show with my teammates whereby we visited the shelter these children were staying at and we showed them some of the key techniques of basketball. The experience was immensely fulfilling. It gave me the immense pleasure of sharing my passion with others and I think the children also enjoyed the experience. Through basket I realized that on a court I could make my skills blend with somebody else’s skills; It transcends race, age, societal background. Basketball does not discriminate. Basketball has taught me so much about my life and about myself and has provided me with extraordinary opportunities to grow, learn and become a better person. My experience with volunteering was only the beginning of my efforts to try to share my passion with others and develop new ways of engaging with it and growing as a person.
