Okay, so today I wanted to try out something a little different, something sporty. I decided to dive into the world of tennis, specifically Stanford University women’s tennis. Now, I’m not much of a tennis player myself, but I’ve always admired the sport from afar. The speed, the agility, the sheer power – it’s all so impressive. And Stanford? They’re like, the royalty of college tennis.
I started by looking for this thing called the “Stanford University Women’s Tennis Questionnaire.” It’s basically a form for potential recruits, I guess. I figured, why not fill it out, just for kicks? I mean, it would be hilarious to see how I stacked up, even just on paper, against these amazing athletes.
First, I had to go on a bit of a treasure hunt to find the thing. But after a bit of looking, I found what I was looking for. Then, I started to look through the questions. It asked for basic stuff like name, address, date of birth. Easy peasy. Then it got into more tennis-specific stuff – like my dominant hand (right, by the way), my preferred playing style (uh… “enthusiastic amateur”?), and my UTR rating (which I had to google, and let’s just say mine is… not quite up there with the pros).
The form then went into some detailed playing history. It wanted to know about my coaches, my tournament results, my training schedule. This is where I really started to have fun with it. I imagined myself as a seasoned tennis pro, crafting this impressive record of wins and achievements. Let’s just say my imagination got a good workout.
- Won the “Backyard Open” three years running (my mom was very impressed).
- Once hit a serve so hard, the ball got stuck in the fence (true story, kinda).
- Perfected the art of the “between-the-legs” shot (in my dreams, obviously).
My Imaginary Tennis Career Highlights:
After filling out my fabricated tennis resume, I moved on to the academic section. GPA, SAT scores, intended major – the usual stuff. I actually had to put some thought into this part, since I do care about my academics. Even in my fantasy world, I’m still a bit of a nerd.
Finally, there was a section for personal statements and essays. This was my chance to really shine, to show off my (imaginary) dedication to the sport and my (also imaginary) burning desire to play for Stanford. I wrote about my passion for the game, my respect for the university’s legacy, and my commitment to teamwork. I even threw in a quote from Billie Jean King, just for good measure.
Once I was done, I took a step back and looked at my creation. It was a masterpiece of wishful thinking and creative writing. Would the Stanford coaches be fooled? Absolutely not. But did I have a blast doing it? You bet. It was a fun little exercise in imagination, and it gave me an even greater appreciation for the hard work and dedication of real student-athletes. Maybe I’ll stick to watching tennis from the sidelines, but hey, at least I can say I (sort of) applied to play for Stanford. And, I learned a bit about what it takes to be a top-tier tennis player. It made me think that there is a lot more going on in the sport than you think.
