Lee Liang Ying
Photo by ICC
As someone who loves sports but is unable to pursue it at a higher level, I am grateful for the various casual sports events organized by the ICC. Since joining previous events like Basketball Championship! in 2024 (where my team won), I have been looking forward to more opportunities to play any sports in university. Sports aren’t only fun and challenging but it also inspires me to grow mentally.
The event I participated in this time was the Soccer Club held at Higashifushimi campus. Actually, this is my second time joining the event. The first time I joined was last year. It left such a positive mark on me that I decided to be part of it again. If I have to say what changed in me between then and now, it would be self-assuredness and confidence.
Even though the event was open to all skill levels, I was still worried about being a complete beginner. Compared to all the skilled players who have been on school teams, play regularly, or are really speedy, I felt like I might be a burden to the team. Objectively, it’s completely irrational to think like that. No one would blame me for making mistakes in a friendly game. Yet, I felt a little regretful that I couldn’t contribute satisfactorily and rued my missed chances to score. Looking back, it was my self-doubt speaking.
I think the key to seeing myself in a different light is to change my angle of thinking. It is similar to the exercise to describe half a glass of water – we can either say it’s half full or half empty. We can think of it positively or negatively. Another example would be the difference between habitually saying thank you and sorry. Do we lift others up or lower ourselves?
Likewise, when looking at my own performance during the games, I can think of it as fulfilling my responsibility within my own capacity or failing to live up to my own unrealistic expectations. Rather than wishing that I could’ve filled the rest of the cup, it is better to recognize the half cup that I am bringing to the table. Rather than criticizing myself for not doing something, it is better to consider how I can improve upon what I did. Only then can I be at peace with myself while proactively growing as a person.
Having said that, the games this time weren’t without regrets either. In our first match, I almost scored a goal less than a meter from the goal post, but luck wasn’t on my side. Admittedly, it was due to my lack of skill to finish it off. Nonetheless, I was happy that I even managed to position myself to make the shot. That in itself is a plus point. Also, despite feeling apprehensive about how strong our opponents looked, the games were actually more closely contested than I’d expected. So, never say never; and I’d definitely participate again next year if I have the chance to.
