Rylee Vestal was a mulitple-year football player for Sidney.
By Rylee Vestal
With only two weeks of left of high school I find myself thinking about how much has changed since I was in the ninth grade. I wish I could go back and have a conversation with a person I was as a freshman. I would have a lot of advice to share. I would tell him that most things are temporary — the good and the bad.
This would be a helpful perspective to adopt as you move through high school. Good things don’t last, so appreciate them while they are happening. Spend time with friends and don’t let anyone pull you into drama. Life is too short for that. I would also encourage him to remember that bad things are temporary too. Losing a big football game, hard classes, a falling out with a friend — these things are temporary. The good will return.
I would tell my freshman self that playing high school sports changed me for the better. When I was in middle school, I had no purpose. I would often find myself flirting with a lot of trouble. I surrounded myself with people that didn’t have the best of intentions.
Sports changed that for me. Once I started football, after school meant practice. After practice meant recovery for the next day of school and practice. This routine gave me the discipline I needed to make other positive changes. I was able to make some positive connections that helped change other people’s perspective of me. I was no longer “the kid from middle school who had a run in with the police.” I was the linebacker who could outrun others and the mistakes from my past. Because I wanted to get better at football, I decided to wrestle. This helped me get stronger and more physical — and it kept me busy and focused.
I would tell my freshman self that the best decision I made was to get involved with sports. You might feel like skipping a practice or skipping a lift- but don’t! First of all, every practice and every lift makes you stronger. Secondly, before you know it you will be playing your last home game. I vividly remember clapping out the seniors at their last home football game when I was a freshman and thinking about how far away it all seemed — and then it happened to me. Time goes fast.
The absolute most valuable piece of advice I would give to my freshman self would be “You do you, but do you sooner.” I spent some time during my sophomore year putting on a show to try to impress a bunch of popular kids. I let them dictate what was important to me for a while — what shoes to wear, who to hang out with, and most destructive- who to leave behind, even though the people they wanted me to leave behind were good friends.
I isolated myself. My teachers noticed. I wanted so badly to stop coming to school, but my teachers helped me to realize that showing up and being consistent is the key to academic success, and maybe even all success. I learned that I could take hard classes and succeed. I decided that I was going to focus on school, football, and getting better at things — including making amends with the good friends I had lost touch with. In the middle of this process I realized that I was happiest and most successful when I blocked out the noise and just focused on doing my best and becoming a better version of myself each day. I feel like I lost some time though; I wish I would have discovered this sooner.
Finally, I would tell my freshman self that graduation will be here before you know it. When I look back at my time in high school I realize how much I have grown. I also recognize that most of my growth has come from adversity. Adversity alone can’t make a person grow, but if a person is willing to pay attention to it and to learn from it, adversity can be a catalyst in finding the best version of yourself. Once I decided to take responsibility for myself, the path that was best for me was no longer so difficult to find.
EXPERIENCES MATTER
By Sara Olding
Experiences matter. They shape us and change us and help us understand the world. This year, in Senior English at Sidney High School we spent time reflecting on how our experiences have helped us grow.
Students have considered how they are a reflection of their relationships with family and friends. They have considered the places they’ve been, the problems they’ve solved, the disappointments they’ve rebounded from, and the moments they’ve celebrated. They have not only reflected on these big moments, but they have also considered how smaller moments have mattered too.
They recognize how we become a reflection of the music we listen to, the books we enjoy, the movies we quote, and the social media we choose to engage in- or leave behind. Experiences matter. Over the next few weeks, students from the class of 2024 will be sharing some reflections on their own experiences. I hope you enjoy listening to their voices as much as I do.
Sara Olding is a teacher at Sidney High School. She lives in Sidney with her husband, Bryan, and son, CJ. She collaborates with Miami University each summer for the Ohio Writing Project. This summer she is looking forward to reading, writing, traveling, hiking and spending time with family.
Rylee Vestal is the son of Adam Vestal and Ashley Rodeheffer. After high school he plans to pursue a career in law enforcement. This summer he is looking forward to working at the Shelby County Jail and hanging out with friends. He will definitely be at the first home Sidney High School football game in the fall.
