Sports have changed me!

I used to be afraid of answering the teachers’ questions in class. That was mainly because I was too _______ to speak in front of people. So I always chose to sit at the back of the classroom.

However, all this _______ after I joined a sports team. A teacher advised me to join the basketball team. At first, I thought it was a crazy _______ because playing basketball would be too difficult for me. But the teacher kept encouraging me to ________ for it, so I decided to have a try.

When I started the practice, I didn’t _______ know the rules of the game. I kept making mistakes. Luckily, _______ laughed at me. Then I decided to try harder to practice basketball. For the first time, I _______ I might be able to achieve something I didn’t know.

I practiced and practiced. Soon I knew the _______ and the “moves”. Being part of a team was fun and meaningful. As time went by, I learned _______ to play basketball and made friends. I never had so much fun!

Now I have gone from ________ in the back of the classroom to raising my hand—even when I am not 100 percent sure that I’ll have the right answer. I’ve always been quite sure of myself!