Day Twenty-One: 'Iolani One Team

At first glance, today seemed like I just thought about me. The day seems like a blur--I remember rushing to the cafeteria in the morning to grab two cartons of OJ and an orange. I remember typing away in the computer lab, too focused to notice anything else around me. I remember rushing to classes but not the actual classes themselves, too busy trying to memorize my speeches in my head. What with being on the brink of a nasty cold on the week of what could possibly be the most important speech competition of my life and having to deal with the stress inherent in going to 'Iolani, I definitely feel like I disappointed the 29 Gifts community, myself included, today. All I can see are the missed opportunities to give.


But I know I'm not supposed to beat myself up for it because I'm sure that I did something, even the tiniest thing, right? And as it turns out, I did find a little nugget of "giving" that I did today: Whenever I crossed paths with a debater who competed this past weekend, I made sure to congratulate them all whether they placed and qualified for the state tournament in April or just missed it by a few ballots. I hugged Nick, yelled my congrats to Alex as she rushed past me, greeted Cat (sp?) warmly when I ran into her in the bathroom, expressed my happiness for Debbie when I walked past her, gave Kenneth and Rachel a hug, etc. As a competitor myself, I know that, sometimes, all people really need to hear is an enthusiastic "Awesome job this weekend!" or, at the very least, a genuine "How did you do?" and a sincere "Aww, you'll get it next time, just you wait!" can make a person feel better. Our"One Team"-ness, as shown in the outward gesture that teammates often make toward each other, is one of the reasons that I'm going to miss high school once I graduate.

Risks taken: 15 

Hugs: 0

Current food cravings/obsessions: chicken noodle soup

Playlist(s) of the Week: "Like An N, But Not Really"