Nesreen Ezzeddine '16 Recruiting Profile

I’m a high school athlete, on a team sport. One nor two individuals can carry this team. I play with my friends and I respect everyone when it comes to my sport. I know I'm not going to get a multi-million dollar contract to play professionally, it will be the greatest gift of all if I get a college scholarship. I know I may never get my name in the paper. I play for love of the game. For the pride and honor, for the blood, sweat and tears it takes to make the team, to earn the spot, to win the game. I play because I can, I play because I know that my life would be empty without the sport I play. I would have a lack of everything my sport gives me... integrity, courage, talent, fearlessness, pride, strength, stamina, will, and the heart of a champion. It’s a bigger part of me than my friends and family can even imagine. Pretty much all the time, I get too caught up in my sport I literally forget that anything else exists, the little details start to appear bigger and I begin to let out the perfectionist in me I never thought existed. The beauty though is that even with all this craziness, I still decide to wake up the next morning and do the same things. If I didn't play, I would lose a part of me. I'm an athlete. I'm a girl. I'm a champion, not because my team always wins, but because when we don't, we learn from our mistakes. We try to fix them, and most of all because we have fun. I have built lifelong friendships and memories because of my being an athlete. I will play as if nothing else matters in this world, because I am a child at heart. I will leave everything on the court and continue to push myself. I am never happy with second place, and I have also learned to not be content with "good game you were so close" I have learned to get over and through my anger and be the athlete and player I have always dreamed of being. I don't play for my parents, for my family, for my friends; I don't play for my coach or my teachers or my school. I play for myself but when I'm playing I represent them. It isn't about winning or losing, but I hate to lose. I won't settle for a tie, and I am not satisfied with 99%. My team has hard goals, that's what will make them feel so much better to achieve, against a lot of odds stacked against us. To play, I have to sacrifice everything, your body, your time, your sweat, blood, and tears, everything... for your team. I am a player, and athlete and a champion, not because I know what it is like to win, but because I know what it is like to lose. I know what it is like to feel the anger and pain that comes along with "second best." I’ve been that girl with tears in her eyes, walking off the court literally balling in fists as the other team, my opponents, receive the first place one. I know what it is like to lose, to win, to want to quit, to want to cry, to not want to get up; but I also know what it feels like to still get up after all that. I know what it is like to hear the cheers and yells for you. I know what it is like to feel the pressure of everyone on your shoulders. If you believe in something hard enough, dreams can come true. Right now, I am #1 in state of Michigan with 8.3 digs per set. I know what it means to be an athlete, a true player, and that is why I play. through hard work and determination, the ‘nobodies’ that are told to just give up, can learn to accept failure, can learn from their mistakes, and can transform into leaders in order to become a symbol for everyone around them, and become a part of something bigger than themselves. I AM a falcon, I am a symbol and I will inspire.