“I love the thrill of playing volleyball. It gives me a sense of freedom and it helps me cope with stress. It also helps me express myself in a way. I’ve been playing volleyball for six years at every school I’ve transferred to over the years. My passion for it started when I was ten years of age. My dad strongly urged me to randomly play with a ball and made me bounce it and did something with it. Initially, I was very confused. When I successfully struck the ball hard with my palm, he told me, ‘I think you just found your sport, kiddo.’ At that time, I felt a great sense of relief. It made me feel hope. It also helped me cope with the anxiety that I was going through. As a kid, I was really shy and it was hard for me to express myself. Volleyball helped me cope with my loneliness. I made several friends on the team, and even my best friend is a volleyball player as well. For me, a team is a family and family is always together and there for one another.”