As I waited in the locker room before our first home basketball game I was incredibly nervous. My stomach was full of butterflies doing flips like Olympic divers.

I have been on the varsity basketball team for three years, since I was a freshman but this would be the first home opener I had ever played in. When I was a freshman, I suited up but saw nothing but the bench. As a sophomore, I had broken my leg before the season started, so I was taking stats with a jersey and jeans on the bench.

This, though, was my year. No inexperience to plague me, no injuries to deal with, just a chance to prove that I made the team three years ago for a reason, that I was a varsity basketball player. I stepped onto the court and I immediately felt my nerves intensify. But I didn’t let it affect my game. I had my best game in a Thacher jersey. Not only were my stats good, but for the first time in a while I felt really, really good about the way I played.

The best part about the home opener (which we won) was that not only did I prove to my peers, my teachers, my coaches, and everyone in the stands that I was a good player and on the varsity team for a reason, but I also proved it to myself.