Editor’s note: Enumclaw Middle School students wrote essays about how places around the Plateau shaped their identity. Six essays have been selected to be published in the Courier-Herald at the end of the month, every other month; they have been minimally edited to retain the author’s voice. This is the third of the six essays.

*TWEET* The loud whistle pulls me out of my thoughts. All the nerves lurking in my body were gone in a flash. The ball gets passed to my feet. Touch, kick, goal. “That’s one more for the red team!” The coach barks out. “What a relief, only 4 more goals to go,” I whisper. This was the day I had been dreading. Today was my select soccer tryouts. I had just moved here from California and the sudden change of environment is exhausting. These very moments are an evaluation- no, a test to see if you have what it takes to be on this very select team. So here I am, Pete’s Pool.

It’s been all day. It’s now 8:00 pm and it is cold. Another thing about Enumclaw that I’m not used to, is the weather. One day its sun beams galore while the following day it’s showering down on us. Tonight seemed to be a particularly cold night. I look around the field and glimpse the hot breath leaving my teammates’ mouths while the chilled wind sweeps it away. Then I’m staring at the buzzing lights. They set a particular mood that I can’t quite place but, it feels like home.

*TWEET* Snapped out of my thoughts, again, my eyes shoot to the ball flying right at me. I lift my leg and trap it, then take my shot. “Right in the top left corner! Nice Kenzie!” Someone calls out. It was an unfamiliar voice that I was trying to place with the person who said it. That’s when I noticed her. “Thank you!” I call out. “Sorry, I didn’t get your name?” I say. “It’s Madaline!” She replies with a smile. Right when I was about to say something, the coach interrupted. “Water break! You have 30 seconds!” We all quickly run over to the benches digging through bags and shuffling through equipment. I pop my lid open and pour the icy liquid into my mouth. “Let’s go girls!” He screeches.

After some more drills and forms, I’m sitting in my car, driving home. I couldn’t stop thinking about every little mistake and wondering, “What if I don’t make the team?” The next day I’m driving back to Pete’s Pool to find out whether I had made the team or got cut. Once I had arrived, I met Madaline at the front entrance. “Hey! Nice seeing you again!” I call out.

“Oh hi! Excited to see if you made the team?” “Excited is not the term I would use; it’s more like anxious,” I smile. “But I seriously doubt that you will get cut, you are fire out there!”

“Thank you!” She says. “Girls get over here!” Coach barks out. Everyone runs to the center of the field and gathers around the coaches. “We are going to announce the players we decided to be on the select team. We will announce in order going by the first name.” He slowly starts reading down the list. “Next we have… Madaline!” ‘Way to go Madaline!” I call out after her. He keeps reading out the names until the final 3. Nothing. Then he calls out, “Finally, we have Kenzie!” I felt a wave of relief take over and a smile shot up my face. One moment I was tense, pleading to be on this team, and the next I felt like I was going to explode. All of the anxiety was gone in a blink. I can’t even begin to describe the excitement jumping around in my stomach like a bouncy ball. “Thank you so much!” I say as I run to the sideline with a beaming grin. I met Madaline with a hug and thanked her for all of the support.

On the drive home, I realized that making the team wasn’t the only thing I took away from those tryouts. I met new people—people I can relate to, people who are now going to be my teammates. I never realized how awesome that feeling was until I experienced it and reflected on it myself. I will never forget the opportunities Peets Pool has given me and helped me build up myself as a person. It has shown me ways to try new things, meet new people, and do what I love most. It has given me unforgettable memories.