My Athletic Artwork
by Caitlin Hurley (03)
An ancient Chinese proverb states “every experience in life is its own piece of paper and design; decorated and filled with marks of memories.” As I make the transition from high school to college life, I will carry with me my portfolio of artwork, “decorated and filled with marks of memories” of my times playing soccer and running track at North Attleboro High School. Created by many different perspectives, angles, and components, my personal works of art will be some of the most influential and memorable experiences of my life.
Undeniably, the boldest and most colorful marks on the canvas of my high school
athletic experience are the friendships I have painted throughout the past four
years. High school soccer has endowed me with the opportunity to be teammates
with girls who eventually became some of my best friends. The chemistry among
the 40 North Attleboro soccer girls each year has illustrated a mix of colors
that has never been an imitation. The loyalty and trust among us goes far beyond
a good pass or a high five after a goal. I could always count on the “highs”
of soccer to alleviate some of the stresses that are a necessary part of senior
year. The blending of so many colorful teammates has meant the world to me and
I am confident that these friendships will be treasures in my priceless art
collection long after that last cold November day of playing soccer.
During track season, the friendships are just as bold and colorful as soccer,
but with different texture, thus creating their own distinct composition. It
is difficult to bond individually with each of the 55 girls on the track team.
Therefore, this enabled me to become best friends with my fellow sprinters and
especially my relay team. Whether we were perfecting handoffs at practice the
day before The New England Championships or having an ice cream party the night
after winning a State Championship, the four of us bonded as sisters on and
off the track. Knowing that our personal efforts would often be instrumental
in putting the finishing touches on our teams’ “big picture”
was our incentive to be creative as individuals. The close friendships we formed
provided a unique understanding among us. If one of us ever slipped up in any
way, we knew on and off the track we had three shoulders to lean on. Any paint
that might have smudged was easily corrected with a friendly stroke of a teammate’s
brush.
This design of my high school athletic
experience would not be complete without some facets being more decorated and
brighter. The penciled-in memories of the rough times encountered will always
be present, but muted. These slight imperfections are overshadowed by the countless
memories in permanent shades of intensity and bubble letters of shared victories
with teammates coupled with my personal bests and new goals to achieve. My coaches’
inspirational half-time and pre-race talks will forever echo in the landscape
of my mind as I continue to use the life-long lessons that I used to think applied
only to a soccer game or track meet. Each and every aspect of the North Attleboro
High School Soccer and Track Program has painted an indelible imprint on the
athlete and person that I am today. The brilliance of my high school treasured
works of art will surely be a solid foundation “decorated and filled with
marks of memories” of the new and different brush strokes that will paint
the person I have yet to become.