Lets get back to the sports. In intermediate school I played cricket in the warmer months and field hockey in the cooler months as well as indoor sports like volleyball and basketball at other times. Cricket and hockey were generally played on the weekend while volleyball and basketball were played during the week. So far so good, right?
When I think back at that time in my life and all of those sports I can't really remember much about the cricket, maybe one or two games and I can't remember anything about the hockey. Zero! However, what I do remember is the basketball and that is something that I wasn't too focused on but I remember it vividly.
Why is that? Why do I remember it like that? We practiced five days a week before school. For some of you, you are probably thinking "what is wrong with that?" Well as a 12 year old it seemed excessive especially when I was used to practicing once a week, maybe twice a week at the most.
The coach's (teacher) partner was a local basketball coach who coached the national league side in the city and he would come to school occasionally to coach us and the teacher would hold a practice for us so that we could prepare for his arrival the following day or week. One day a week practice become four or five days a week and it got too much for me. I enjoyed playing basketball but not that much. It become boring, so much so that I gave up. I didn't want to play anymore.
Knowing what I know about myself now I look back on that time and wonder why did I give up. Was playing five days a week just too much or did I just not like being around the same people that much? Did I not like the people that I played with? Maybe. The people that played basketball were not typically the people that I hung out with.
I think the reason, when I look back on it was that I didn't like the stimulation of the people around me on a daily basis who I wasn't comfortable with. Sure, I was going to school every day but the people around me weren't my friends in the definition that I used and left the team.
That was a difficult decision at the time and felt bad about it because I felt like I was letting down the team and my team mates but I do realise that I was being true to myself and that it was the only thing I could do.
If it isn't comfortable for you, don't try to make it so you will only make yourself feel worse and start to resent the people around you. You do need your alone time and you do need your group time. Make sure you know where your limits are for both socialising and alone time. You don't want to do too much of either.
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