Sitting in a stuffy, grey walled conference room at seven thirty in the morning on a Saturday was not how I envisioned my weekend to begin.  Waking up at six in the morning and driving into Philadelphia was torturous.  My ideal Saturday morning would be waking up—around eight o’clock—and getting ready for field hockey practice. 

Sadly, that would not be happening.  I still wasn’t cleared after getting my second surgery to correct pinched nerves and torn cartilage from last season.  Instead I was slumped, holding my coffee, in a hard plastic chair for seven hours.  My day encompassed painstakingly going through training videos, PowerPoints, and worksheets. 

Why was I sitting here?  I was recently elected the Vice President of my high school’s Best Buddies Chapter.  While I was overjoyed to be a part of an extraordinary organization, I would have much rather been running drills on the field hockey turf.  Yet, I was pushing thoughts of plays and drills from my mind.  Today was the area chapter meeting organized by the heads of our chapter—Millie and Sam. 

The two women were too energetic for such an early morning.  Millie was a ball of energy.  Her excitement was clearly expressed on her face.  Her smile was beaming from wall to wall, and her eyes had the brightest sparkle in them.  You could really tell that she loved what she did, and her enthusiastic mood began to rub off on everyone.  Once Millie was done introducing herself everyone in the room instantly perked up, her contagious happiness was hard to not be affected by.  Next, Sam introduced herself.  Sam, was less energetic than Millie but she was still as enthusiastic about the organization.  Her face carried the signs of little sleep—dark circles, slightly closed eyes, and the occasional yawn. 

Once the two heads were done introducing themselves they had all twenty kids there, myself included, go around and introduce ourselves.  The introductions were all the same.  One by one each person stood up, stated their name, what school they were from, and what position they held.  When my turn came around, I stood up rather willingly, actually excited to continue with training.  I introduced myself fast and sat down.  Once I sat down, Millie got right to business.    

A few hours later, a lunch break was rewarded to all of us students.  The lot of us gathered around a table and started to get to know everyone a bit better.  After 15 minutes, Millie gathered us all back into the conference room, and continued with the training. 

While going over fundraiser ideas, Millie stopped abruptly and looked at each of us intently.  After a few moments of silence, she said “Each and every one of you are extraordinary.  To be willing to give up a Saturday to sit in this room for hours—especially since you are all high school students—really depicts your character.  I am so proud to have each and every single one of you apart of this organization.” 

When Millie was finished with her outburst, everyone was left silent.  We all looked around at each other, unsure of what to do.  Wow.  Maybe Millie is right.  This organization is going to change the way I am.  I am so thankful for this opportunity I was given.  After a few more moments of silence the training continued.  Millie and Sam continued informing us about the organization—Best Buddies International—and how everything works internally.   

Two more hours passed, and the meeting was over.  Everyone stood up and started to say goodbye to each other.  After thanking Millie and Sam for a wonderful meeting, I made my way to my car.  Once inside, I sat there for a few minutes.  Reflecting on the day, and just thinking about how the long tiring day turned out to be amazing—life changing even.  That moment was when I realized that everything happens for a reason.  As cliché as it sounds, it is true.  While I couldn’t play field hockey, I was able to be a part of an organization that has changed the way I am.  I realized, sitting in my car, that there are positive opportunities which flourish from negative outcomes in life.