By Ayeshah Shabbir (YES 2018-2019, Pakistan, hosted by American Councils PO in Joshua, TX)

I played tennis for a long time back in my home country, Pakistan, but I had to drop it due to personal reasons. Tennis is one of the things the U.S. helped me get back into. I was able to join the tennis team my second semester here at Joshua High School in Joshua, Texas. My teammates, both varsity and junior varsity, were very welcoming. Throughout the three weeks of practice, my teammates, along with my coaches helped me out, corrected me where I was wrong, and were very accepting of all of my flaws.

After only three weeks of practice, I had my very first tournament in years. It was a Girls Singles Tournament and I played for the Junior Varsity (J.V.)  team at Joshua High School. My J.V. teammates along with my coaches were there to support me. In total I played four games. After losing my first match 4-8, I knew it’d be very hard to win the other ones. It was hard, but not impossible. I played till the end, got tired, and only had less than five minute breaks in between my matches, but I put my best into it. I won all three of these games and brought home a medal for coming in third for girls singles in the region. The most exciting part about the tournament was how you got to meet new people. You don’t know the person you are playing against and yet even though you are playing against them, you somehow still end up becoming friends with them.

My second tournament shocked me. I played J.V. girls singles and won the championship. My coaches, along with my teammates were so proud of me. Winning a medal is a great feeling, but winning a medal in a foreign country is honestly the best feeling in the world. The medals I won in the U.S. will stay with me forever, and will always keep the memories alive.

I just wanted to say a huge thank you to YES for giving me this opportunity. Being on the tennis team makes me really happy. I’ve not only made my school, but my families proud too. If it would not have been for YES, this wouldn’t be happening today!