Team Spirit

Siena Evard

Period 2

Oliver, April

April 25^th, 2014

Team Spirit

            My heart was beating hard and fast. I gazed up at the ceiling, hoping this would be of some comfort. The colorful lights reflected intricate patterns that danced across my pupils. I shut them viciously, hoping this would distract me from the nervousness that pulsed through my body. I opened my eyes slowly and softly, my eyelids fluttering from uncertainty as to whether or not I should shut them again. I continue to open them. As the lights streamed back into me, I felt a hand gracefully press into my back.  My body had tensed up again as I turned my head to see whose hand had been tickling down my spine.  I felt relief. I felt the tension sweep out of my body, leaving me limp and relying just on the hand that nuzzled down my spine. 

            “Whoa…take it easy there. Are you feelings all right?” said Caity.

I responded, “Just the nerves getting me again”.

“We’ve done this just about a million times, don’t worry. We’re all here for you. We’re here to work our hardest for each other today”, said Caity.

Soon, I felt the embrace of a dozen other girls clustered at my shoulders. They weaved over each other’s hands and shoulders, now forming into a circle in which had no end, and no beginning. We were all one, all equally important to each, all needing each other. I dropped my head towards the floor and was flushed with a smile. I stared at my shaky knees and ghostly white skin. I looked nervous, but on the inside I felt content with the love and support I had coiled around me. I looked admiringly all around the circle that I felt so proud to be a part of. We had all worked so hard for each other. I turned my head to see whom I had wrapped in my right arm, pulling them in even tighter. Their chest pounded in and out, faster and faster. Their forehead dripped with cold sweat. She looked at me just as how I had looked at her; both admiring the hard work we had both put into this team, and this routine.

“This is it, all the hard work we put into all those hard hours at practice pay off here”, Caity said. We all grunted, agreeing.

I thought back to the months and months worth of practice. All the hard work, the sweat, the time, the perseverance. It was all for each other. Each and every girl there worked unbelievably hard for herself, and for her team. I heard our team name on the loud speaker, dragging me back to reality.

I looked down at my knees, now standing solid. My nervousness had been dissolved by the love my teammates and I all had for each other. I looked around at the squinting eyes and stretched smiles. My confidence soared as my heart began to race once again. But this time, my heart pulsed harder and harder due to the confidence and excitement I was encircled by.

“Okay guys, just the next few minutes, that’s all that matters”, Caity said.

I filled my lungs with the stuffy air that surrounded me. I bounced up and down on my toes, pumping my clammy fists up and down rhythmically. These next few moments were for my team. My hard work was for them. I brushed the curtain out of my face, welcoming forward the stage where all our hard work would be shown. I looked across the stage to see the dim faces cheering for all of us. I heard the screams of excitement and booming claps steaming from the crowd. Soon, I felt all that fade away. I no longer heard anything but silence. The next few moments weren’t for the crowd or even for myself, this was for my team.

Analysis

Similar to Shukhov and his gang members, the camaraderie I share with my teammates is a big part of my life. One of the things that inspires Shukhov and his gang to work the hardest is the rewards they know they will receive if they work together. This, much like any sports team, shows the hard work teammates do for one and other. One scene in the novel shows the gangs heading towards the cafeteria for their next rations. Wanting the most possible food they can get, the prisoners begin to race against another gang to get there first. During this scene, Shukhov says, “even the guards are with them”(101). Shukovs gang feels a common goal, to get more food. They all work together to achieve that goal. By the entire gang running, Shukhov is not only getting more food for himself, but for his entire gang. Throughout the novel, prisoners work together to achieve a common goal for one and other. In the novel, the reward of food not only goes to Shukhov, but his entire gang. This is reflected in my story by a team winning a competition, the entire team, not only myself, receives the reward.