Simple: Halee Mills

     To be simple is to be content. Contentment isn't always attainable. Simplicity isn't that simple. To simplify one's life is to give up something. Sometimes giving up that thing isn't easy, making the task not simple.
     I played basketball for 11 years. In 10th grade, I gave it up because people were horrible to me. I didn't know why at the time, all I knew was that it was the right choice for me at the time. Turns out the school board had family members on the basketball team that wouldn't get to play if I played. They threatened to fire her if I played. I figured out that was the reason why I was stuck on C Squad and JV in 9th grade. C Squad is the same level of play as 6th grade. I scored 20 points and had blocks, steals and lots of rebounds in the first game of the season. Fans and others who came to games questioned why I didn't get to play. They never gave a reason. It wasn't until my dad was athletic director that she confided in him and told him that was why I didn't play varsity. I deserved to. An elder in the community told me I was the talk of the Hi-Line. The Hi-Line is the north central part of Montana. We lived on the Hi-Line, and most of the people we played lived on it, too. He told me radio stations and other schools approached him and asked why I didn't play. He didn't know at the time either. People came from all over to watch us play, and apparently, a lot came to watch me and questioned why I didn't play even though I was pretty good. I decided before the season started of my 10th grade year that I should just stop playing. The girls were just mean. They undermined me, turned their backs and talked bad about me. It lasted for 3 years. Even after I quit, they were mean. When the coaches realized I wasn't playing, they begged me to come back. I'm not exaggerating. I said no, since they were rude. I knew I was done dirty, I just didn't find out until the middle of my 10th grade year.
     When I decided to give up basketball, I lost something. I lost the sport I loved and the passion I once had for it. Although I still enjoy playing, it's just not the same. Practices aren't fun like they used to be, and games just aren't exciting. Maybe it's because I played bad basketball for 2 years in Montana. I don't know. I like shooting around, but it's not the same. Giving up something that seems simple wasn't. It still stings when I think about it. Not every simple thing is simple.