I can’t remember the exact day the dining room table was transformed into a ping pong table, but what I can tell you is everything changed because of it. The eternal competition between my brothers and I finally became measurable with a game to 21, win by two, or 11 if dinner was about to be ready. When we convinced my dad to remove his Yiaya’s hand-knit tablecloth and replace it with a “DIY” ping pong net, I learned that his immediate “No” to everything was always persuadable. And, beyond that, I learned how to thrive in this competitive world through heated and intense ping pong matches with my brothers.
Finding the right balance between competition and entertainment in the family ping pong matches was a delicate task. As the youngest of three brothers, I learned quickly that even I, the smallest player, could use the paddle to knock that featherweight ball into my opponent’s box. I’m a lefty, and this gave me an advantage over my brothers. I played in a completely different way from how most people play. I could always sneak points in by using their strength to my advantage, and their right handed arrogance against them. Essentially, the most important skill I learned was how to be confident when facing daunting opponents, like my older brothers.
Learning how to use my unique ability to my advantage involved finding the perfect angle and moment to strike, or to stand my ground and win the game. I had to decide whether or not the struggle was worth the effort when facing my brother, George, knowing that there may not be a good outcome for me. If I beat George, he would bang the table with his paddle in anger, and use the paddle as a projectile to throw at me, insisting on a rematch and saying “Will, you cheated, it wasn’t game point!” If I lost, he would rub his victory in my face for days. Nevertheless, in my stealth and quiet way as the younger brother, I managed to beat him at his angry game more times than not.
Playing against Angelo was intimidating. The six years he had on me gave him the ability to spike the ball on my head. I could barely see over the table as he mercilessly struck the ball at me. In my eyes and in everyone’s eyes, Angelo was Mr. Perfect. He had started a ping pong club at his school and was determined to showcase his skills. However, with my experience as 3rd grade recess quarterback and beyblade champion, my competitive mind was constantly thinking about how to dethrone Angelo. This is when I learned how to beat the boss at his game. I never attacked when facing Angelo, but instead wore him out through defense. I never let the ball miss my paddle. With every thwack of his spike, my paddle was waiting to respond with a suppressing “donk.”
Before my brother George left for college, prior to dinner plates replacing our sacred net, we enjoyed a final ping pong match. I was flooded with the realization that these games had a profound impact on my childhood, and this tradition was ending after this match. Ping pong taught me that power is not the most important trait in coming up victorious, but instead, strategy. Ping pong made me a patient person. When George’s aggression tempted me to lose my poise, I learned to calmly, yet sternly, stand my ground. By playing against Angelo, a more rational opponent, I learned how to have fun in a competitive environment. I learned how to not be afraid of challenges, but instead to rise to the occasion and surprise myself with my talents. Now that my brothers are in college, Yiayia’s tablecloth re-covers the dents from George’s raging paddle, but the lessons learned and moments captured will forever shine through me.
What Ms. Ledoux said about Will’s essay:
While many students spend a long time discovering their college essay topic, Will came upon his topic pretty easily and created a draft early in the year. This gave him time to study smaller parts of his essay: the focus of particular paragraphs, or even the tone and word choice of a certain sentence. Will spent time choosing the right words to capture the complex relationship he had with his brothers as he both admired them and competed with them: “When George’s aggression tempted me to lose my poise, I learned to calmly, yet sternly, stand my ground. By playing against Angelo, a more rational opponent, I learned how to have fun in a competitive environment.” Additionally, some of his sentences are just fun: “With every thwack of his spike, my paddle was waiting to respond with a suppressing “donk.” Will’s essay is a great example of how small moments in our lives make for fruitful essay material as they speak to larger themes in our life, and how attention to details in specific sentences can improve the effect of the entire essay.