Team

Our team: A beautiful mosaic

contributed by Natalie

Being on a team is never easy. You have to deal with a million different personalities, a variety of voices and ideas, and sometimes you wish that everyone would just agree and get along. But from my own personal experience — being on a lacrosse team — I have found that ultimately, being on a team is worth it. The people that surround you, no matter how varied their personalities, become your family and only together, can anything be accomplished. Only together can you win a game. Only together can you be a real team.

Natalie (bottom) and her team family

The first difference that we had to overcome on my lacrosse team was the variety of ages. The seniors and juniors—maybe a few sophomores—already know each other, but the new freshmen that come aboard are apart from the rest of the team. Slowly, however, we each realize that age does not matter when being part of a team—sure, the old may teach the young, but the young also have lessons to bring to the old—fresh ideas and new styles of playing that make the team that much better. Plus, new blood is always revitalizing and keeps the team growing.

The second and larger difference is personality types. For instance, we have Amy, the nice, motherly caring teammate who always brings snacks and extra socks—she never ceases to cheer the team on, and though gentle and quiet, her actions speak volume for the team. On the other end of the spectrum we have Alison, the aggressor—not as friendly, but very fierce, always playing each game with determination. Along with these two characters is the peppy Melanie, who keeps the team going with her constant loud encouragement, funny jokes, and smiles. Though these three individuals may all be different, they each contribute a uniqueness and specialty to the team that helps complete us and weld us together.

Every team is a mosaic. Each player, each piece is a colorful shard of glass--maybe a bit rough around the edges—but each also has its own shape and its own shade. You take one shard of glass, and you are not able to do much with it, but when you take a handful and arrange them in harmony, a beautiful, colorful, diverse artwork is created that could not be formed through any other arrangement.

Both my lacrosse and tennis teams at school are mosaics in my life. Though each season, we start out as a jumble of shards of glass, by the end, we become beautiful mosaics.
 
*Names have been changed to protect the privacy of individuals