DAY 11. MILESTONES

Think about your mission statement.

What milestones did you reach that show your

accomplishments and how you achieved them.

Write your mission statement again

Write a few paragraphs about your milestones

in reaching that goal.

 

Examples

My memoir describes how my background in sports helped me to succeed as a teacher and a friend.

• Playing with the boys and developing athletic skills

• Finally getting to play sports with other girls and feeling complete

• Enjoying the friendships that playing on a team brought

• Coaching high school girls’ basketball

• Coaching high school girls’ soccer

• Coaching high school girls’ track

• Feeling I had found where I belong

• Coming out of my shell as a result of playing and coaching

• Turning the characteristics of a good teammate into those of a good friend

• Winning as a player and as a coach

           

Playing sports with my brothers and having my father as my early coach gave me an advantage, or so I thought. I developed the skills at an early age, but I also had to compete against boys. Both worked in my favor later. When I started playing basketball in high school, I could hold my own with the older girls, the juniors and seniors. In my second year, I moved up to varsity and soon had a starting spot in the line-up.

I began to feel that I had found kindred souls, other girls who liked sports and were good at them, too. Maybe because of my abilities, maybe because I had an older brother in the same class as the older girls, or maybe because they liked me, I was welcomed onto the team rather than seen as a threat. They were true competitors, and if a sophomore could help them win, then so be it.

 

The early experiences I had in high school sports stayed with me as I moved on. Only when a basketball program was started at my college did I start to feel I might fit in there. Up to then, I had a lonely existence as a college commuter. I felt comfortable with these girls and began to overcome my shyness. Off the court, we socialized, partied, and bonded.

 

This carried over to my work life. One of my first full-time jobs was working in a sporting goods store. Of course, the people I worked with were young and interested in athletics and sports of all kinds. I was introduced to racquetball by one co-worker who soon became a close friend. Again, the people I gravitated to shared my interest, and I could relate to them.

 

After two years, I found a teaching position. Along with it came an extra-curricular job as girls’ assistant basketball coach. I believe if I had not played in high school and college and had not had those experiences, I would not have landed the job at that time when there were few openings for English teachers.

 

Later in my career, I became head coach of the soccer team and assistant track coach. In these positions, too, I felt comfortable and fulfilled. I attribute my staying in teaching to the elements coaching brought to my career. It was a break from grading papers and gave me a chance to see kids outside the classroom. It also forced me to delineate for myself my values. Being there for my team translated into being there for my colleagues when I later became department chairperson. Fairness, collaboration, honesty, and loyalty are traits that transferred from the field to the classroom to the meeting room. My colleagues knew I had their backs just as my teammates and my students did.

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