Of all the ball-related sports available, volleyball is the one that attracts me the most. No, it’s not because I know all the rules there are to the sport, nor was I a longtime fan. I enjoy it for one simple reason– I am on the same level with everyone.

More common sports– such as basketball and badminton– always seems to have one or two kids who are simply experts, as they have practiced perfecting their craft since they were kids, and there are kids who were merely exposed to the sport earlier and are better at it due to their prolonged casual interest. And then there are kids like me, whose mother never encouraged me to persevere in any field, especially sports, leading me to be good at, well, anything. Because of this, PE classes always seem like an impossible marathon, as I try to catch up with peers that are miles ahead of me in terms of their skill.

However, everything changed when the school introduced volleyball into our curriculum. Despite volleyball being one of the most popular sports everywhere else but our school, for me and my classmates, it was quite a niche and underrated sport. Perhaps this unusual phenomenon is caused by the overcrowded school with barely any room for courts other than basketball, or because of the school’s poorly planned classes that prevented my class from having a chance to even be on the volleyball court before our sophomore year of high school. Nevertheless, this unique scenario created my ideal vision of a perfect sports class: one where everyone begins at the same starting line.

After the teacher taught us the basics of the sport, we split into groups of six and began to participate in a friendly competition. Unexpectedly, my team was winning, and at last, I found myself in the final round, competing against a band of some of the most athletic girls in my class.

The whistle sounded, and the final round was about to begin, and I was the first one up to serve. To my surprise, my ball sailed successfully across the net and landed on the opposing team’s floor with a loud thump, signaling a point for my team. Going off my success, I went for another hit, and, again, I won us another point. My friends cheered and shouted for me, and for the first time, I felt as if I had truly experienced the joy of sports.

It was my friends’ support that gave me the final push to sign up for the annual class-wide volleyball competition. Without them, I would never have had the courage to do so. In them, I found my strength.