It was a late May evening, I was sitting on a curb at my local park stretching out my legs after a vigorous, and much-needed run. Two tennis players caught my eye, yelling and laughing while attempting to play the sport, which made me reminisce on my high school days on the tennis team. I grabbed my racket and bag of tennis balls from the trunk of my Jeep and walked onto the courts, to the “play by yourself” board that was attached to the fence. I warmed up and to my surprise, I was actually playing very well even though I hadn’t picked up a racket in months. The two players a few courts down from me noticed my success, and began watching me; I could hear them commenting on my shots. One of them walked over to me -- a middle-aged, tan man, with a big smile on his face.

“Would you want to play a game with me?” he asked. I said yes without much hesitation, although I was worried about my skills against someone I had never played with before. My opponent and I played for about two hours, and it was the most fun I have had in a long time. At the end of our match, we exchanged numbers, and from then on we became tennis partners and played on a weekly basis. I helped him with his skill and mechanics, and he helped me relieve some stress by playing my favorite game. He was the competition that I needed to make me a better player.

This incident made me think about chances. I applied this to my own life and realized that, lately, I have been taking a lot of chances which lead to my personal growth. If I had said no to this complete stranger, then I wouldn’t have a tennis partner that I have been looking for for years -- and a great friend. I took a leap and went to a college that was five hours away from my hometown, without knowing anyone. I joined a sorority after not making many friends my first semester, which is way out of my comfort zone. I say yes to new experiences with good friends or complete strangers.

Taking chances is the way that I thrived not only on the tennis courts or in college but also in every aspect of my life. I put myself out there in all situations, which leads me to great opportunities. Life is a pick-up game, spontaneous and waiting for you to take the right moment and turn it into something worthwhile.