A Special Game

Tonight, I will attend a high school football game, like I do every Friday during the first few months of school. I'll get suited up, face paint on, cheers ready, camera in hand. I'll be ready for all the fun and the excitement that naturally comes with any football game. But for me, this isn't just any football game. This one is special.

So why is this one so different for me?

Well, I've attended both of the high schools that are playing each other.

Yep. Tonight I'll be cheering on my Bingham Miners as they take on my West Jordan Jaguars in what will likely be one of the most special games (to me) that I'll ever watch. So you could say I'm excited.

Jaguar from Birth: I'm sitting on Santa's
lap wearing a sweet "West Jordan Jags"
sweatshirt. Christmastime, 2007

A Little Bit of Background

If you just started following my blog or you don't know me very well, fear not. I'll catch you up.

I grew up in West Jordan, Utah during my entire childhood. So I knew for that whole time that I would (someday) attend West Jordan High School. All three of my older siblings had gone to and graduated from WJ, so when it was my turn, I was ready. I was excited to be a Jaguar and have my own experience there.

Freshman year, post-playoff-clinching basketball game. Yep.

Eventually, it came. It's August 2014, and I'm beginning my sophomore year at West Jordan High School. The months rolled by, and I can honestly say I was loving every second of it. And then suddenly, it's April 2015, and we're moving. Yep. My family and I packed up and left the only house I had ever lived in, settling down in a house 5.8 miles away. Huge change? Not really. But the move meant I had the chance to switch schools.

And so I did.

I jumped into the great unknown of Bingham High School, and boy, am I grateful I did.

So it's August 2015, and I am starting school at a new place for the second consecutive year. Only this time, I don't have all my friends starting school with me. I go in, knowing maybe ten people total (out of more than 2,500) and it's honestly kind of scary. Of course, it's exciting, but it's also very strange to walk down the hallways of your high school and not see a single familiar face.

But again, the months rolled by. And as they passed I fell in love with the wonderful school that Bingham is. I came to make many friends, have tons of fun, and was eventually selected to serve as Bingham's senior class president.

Sophomore year football with my two best friends

So you could say it's been a pretty good ride.

And now, here we are. September 2016. I might not be starting school at a new place this year, but I have a feeling that I'm going to love senior year just as much as I loved sophomore and junior year. No, actually:

I'm going to love it more. And that's a promise.

And truly, I am so incredibly happy that I had the chance to switch to Bingham. It's been so good for me, and this change has been so beneficial to my life.

WJ will always hold a special place in my heart, and I'll always be a Jaguar, even if the colors I wear now are just a slightly different shade of blue.

But oh, man. Being a Miner is such a good thing to be. And I'm so blessed to be one.

I don't know what you would call the mix of a Miner and a Jaguar, but I can sure tell you that it's a good thing to be.

Why this Game Means So Much to Me

Ever since high school began, football season was always the most exciting part of the year for me. It's always something I looked forward to, because I loved getting so pumped during the games and spending time with my friends.

So naturally, I was pretty excited for this year's football season.

But this year is different for multiple reasons. First off, it's SENIOR YEAR. That means that this is our last shot. We're looking at that state championship, and we are poised to make a run for it. But if we miss it? There is no comfort of "next year". This is it. This is all we've got. 

But not only that. As you might know, Bingham fell short last year, losing in the semifinals of the state championship. And that stings. But that shortfall is being used as the motivation to take it all this year. In fact, Bingham's season has been so affectionately titled their "Revenge Tour", and it's not hard to see why. The players are coming out and they're ready to redeem themselves from last year's defeat. We've already beaten the defending state champs and the team that knocked us out last year. We're ready.

WE'RE COMING.

(If you can't tell, I'm hyped for Bingham football this year. I know we can take the championship, and I'm ready for it.)

So yeah, I'm pretty amped for this season as a whole. But this game is so meaningful to me because it's like the two halves of my identity are coming together. I get to watch my friends from WJ take on my friends from Bingham, and it's going to be awesome.

The best part: it's going to be a really good game. Both of these schools are 3-0, and so it's going to be sick. Granted, West Jordan has probably played some easier opponents, but that's no reason to count them out. I'm just so excited to watch this game, because it'll be interesting to see how it goes.

Beyond that, I honestly don't care who wins this game. I'm just so happy because I love both of these teams and these schools so much that the result isn't too important to me.

I don't know how to explain it, but here's what I'm trying to say: I'm going to enjoy the football game itself tomorrow, but I'm going to enjoy the experience of being surrounded by so many people who I love so much more.

I've learned a lot since I switched schools. But I know that the most important thing that I've learned is that the things that make life meaningful are the people that are in your life. And tonight, I'm going to be surrounded by SO many people that I love so so so much.

So that's why I'm excited for the game.

GO MINERS. GO JAGUARS.