“The American Spirit as Shown Through the Perspective of a Thirteen-Year-Old Without a Knack for Tennis,” written by Katherine Wright, is a phenomenal piece that I could not only relate to but agree with as well. The first paragraph immediately draws you in with a strong statement that tells the truth. She -Katherine Wright- is not good at tennis. Katherine then goes on to describe a situation she was in where her tennis partner told her that the wall would be a better partner than her because “at least the wall would hit back.” While devastated at the time, now older (and wiser) Katherine has decided that this insult is more funny than mean. The rest of the article details Katherine’s thoughts on this comment and how laughing at mistakes will make them not as big of a deal.

            I related to this piece on many levels, which was the reason I began reading, but not the reason I finished. At first, I was hooked in by this story about being bad at tennis because I'm not the best player myself, but as I kept reading I was intrigued by the messages Katherine was sending. Additionally, in the beginning, I thought that it would just be a charming little memoir-type story about tennis with a short, insignificant “reflection” at the end. However, I was proved wrong. The memoir-style part turned out to only be the second and third paragraphs, while the reflection was the entire rest of the piece. Katherine managed to relate an inconsequential story about a mean teenager, to lessons like not criticizing celebrities for a wrong conversation. She writes, “One sentence they say in a television interview can be replayed and over-analyzed by millions … even if their tone was playful and with good, comedic intentions.” Well-written and inspirational, Katherine’s piece will be meaningful to all, even if they are professional tennis players.