Winter Guard Research Paper

Words: 498
Pages: 2

The process of personal growth is a challenge that’s often steeped in a sense of discomfort and fear, and is something I’ve become quite acquainted with throughout my life. The initial panic of starting new activities or forcing myself to talk to others has always been something I’ve battled– yet, I’ve found that with time and repetition it becomes easier to manage. I have a wide variety of interests and passions, and that means that I’ve had to step outside of my comfort zone a multitude of times. A prominent example of that, for me, is taking part in winter guard. It’s a physically demanding sport, and something that has both awed and terrified me– yet, by pursuing it, I’ve immensely grown as a person. Through stepping outside of my comfort zone by doing winter guard, I’ve learned the value of resilience and consistency– as well as feeling comfortable with being scared. …show more content…
I desperately loved the sport, but even basic maneuvers like half-tosses and pop tosses made my stomach drop, and left me bruised and battered after every practice. I’d never done any sort of preformative activity before, and learning how to put on a show whilst tossing a flag multiple feet above my head definitely humbled me. However, despite my fears of decapitation, I threw myself into learning everything I could. Eventually, the sensation of panic began to feel familiar to me. After dropping my flag on myself a couple of (read: many, many) times I started to be able to manage it and wrangle the paralyzing emotion into docility. Once I’d learned to master my fear, I was able to excel in earnest, and by my second month, I was able to do a half-toss