Just Like That

Today I got hit in the head with a volleyball. Now, usually, this doesn't throw me at all, and I'm fine to go on playing like normal. but today a boy named Adam hit the ball that hit me in the head. And Adam hits it HARD. He didn't mean to hit me, I wasn't even on the court. I was standing next to the wall. The ball came at me so hard and fast that all I had time to do was turn my head and duck a little, unluckily, the duck only made it so my head was in the prime spot to be smashed by the ball into the wall.

I quickly walked out into the hall next to the gym and sat down against the wall where I could cry in semi-private. A lot of people came to ask if I was okay, and I said yes, I just had a monster headache. The coach (Rachel) seemed a little more concerned, however, and got me an ice pack and checked my pupils to make sure that I didn't have a brain injury.

This got me thinking as I sat alone in that dark hallway, "what if this had been worse and my life changed 'like that'?" There are people in this world whose lives change in the blink of an eye. Some get brain damage, or are paralyzed from the hips or neck down, or some go blind. Now I'm not saying that all this could've come about from a volleyball to the face, but I have heard stories before of things like this happening from a seemingly simple and not-dangerous thing.

So I had to ask myself, what kind of person would I have been if I had to be in a wheelchair for the rest of my life? How would I deal with it? I began to cry again as I thought of the horror I had for that kind of life and the empathy I felt for the people who have to go through it.

I realized how fragile life is. I'm not going to quit playing volleyball, because, let's face it, if we did nothing that had any possible dangers, we'd all be staying in bed our whole lives. But I think that life deserves some respect and care. There are things we can't always prevent from happening, but there are some we can prevent. I think sometimes people take unnecessary risks, even in their everyday lives, whether it be driving too fast or some other crazy tendency we youngsters have. We need to stop it.

Don't worry, I will be fine. The headache went down with the ice and the dark, and while it is still there, it is ebbing a bit. I took a nap because it completely drained my energy, and I feel a little sick and shaky now, but I will be fine. I just wanted to document a few of my thoughts and feelings about this experience.