One particular tournament will always stick with me. My partner, Jessi, and I were up against girls that had just started tennis. It was unnecessary to ask. You could tell. They didn't have their strokes mastered and asked questions about the rules. Yet, they had good sportsmanship down. After each of my good shots they gave me a compliment, even if it was our point. After each game they made us feel so happy and confident with all their applause and flattering words. I have never played against such genuinely kind girls. It was such a humbling experience. We won more than that match. Plus they have the coolest names- Cheyenne and Echo. Talk about unique.
I also think back to the day I was playing tennis with my best friend, Katie. A young couple started playing on the court next to us just as we were leaving. As I left, I waved and told them to have fun. I don't know why. I felt kind at that moment, probably because it was the ideal perfect afternoon. The lady called after us, "Hey girls! We just started playing tennis and were wondering if you could give us a quick run through of the rules." "Of course!" They were the sweetest, funniest couple. I want a relationship like that. They weren't afraid to try new things and make themselves look pretty funny. Ironically, I ran into them later that afternoon. They were still panting from the workout. They said they had playing the game totally wrong. They were counting points like volleyball and playing til 20 something. HAHAHA. We literally sat on a bench and talked for a good hour. They encouraged me to go to a community college for the first two years. They told me of their lives... and I just left totally humbled.
And now today my idol, Preston came in to speak with us. This guy is a professional producer that focuses on documentary making. He sheds light on political and social issues he's passionate about. I'm always in awe whenever he comes in to speak or help us. First, he helped me film a few things for the upcoming show (You can watch our newest episode and previous at chswired.tv). It was so modest of him when he said, "Abbey, I'm here to help. You tell me what you want me to do." Can you imagine Morgan Freeman saying something like that to you?! I was literally shaking. Then that afternoon he invited me to come to the third hour class he was speaking in. Preston said I would really enjoy the surprise he had for the class. When he mentioned the word "surprise," I was sold. Love those things. I later found out that he was Skyping with Academy Award winning documentary maker, Daniel Junge. He had the class ask him questions about the process, his opinion and his advice. Talk about inspirational. Afterwards, Preston gave us advice that we could apply to not only the film business, but life. I think Preston's words hit me harder than Daniel Junge's.
"You don't have to go to college if you love what you're doing. You can learn on your own. I'm not saying college is bad, but that not every field requires a college education. For those of you going into film, you need to love it 100%. If you don't, you're not going to make it."Humbling.
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