Chapter Six - Dodgeball Dreams That Never Were

CHAPTER SIX

Dodgeball Dreams That Never Were

“I’D PLAY KICKBALL right now. Don’t test me.”

Health and gym.
Two classes that somehow manage to be both important and completely skippable, depending on your school, your schedule, and your overall relationship with sweat.

At my school, both were technically optional.
Health class? Online.
Gym? Replaceable with two seasons of sports.
And guess what? I took the loopholes every time.

Let’s start with health class.

Now, I’m sure someone somewhere has had a deeply meaningful, enlightening health class experience, but mine was just... a website. It was an online program where all the content, and yes, even the answers, were available on the internet. It was like a scavenger hunt where the treasure was a passing grade.

Did I technically complete the course?
Yes.
Did I absorb everything?
Probably enough. I’d already been taking care of myself for years. I knew how to drink water, how not to die, and the basic food pyramid. The rest? Just random terms I’ve never needed to use in conversation.

It was basically a get-out-of-jail-free card.
Health class: checked.

Now for gym class, which I didn’t take.
Not officially, anyway.

At my school, you could dodge gym altogether if you played two seasons of sports. Which I did. Not because I loved athletics, but because I thought gym would be worse. So instead, I joined football and track.

Yes. Football.
And track.
The two most running-heavy sports I could’ve chosen.
Brilliant move on my part.

But the thing is, part of me kinda regrets missing out on real gym class. Not the mile-run part. Not the changing-in-the-locker-room part. But the games. I wanted that kickball life. I wanted to dominate in scooter races. I wanted that one week where everyone’s good at volleyball for no reason.

Some kids take gym like it’s the Olympics.
You’ll know who they are.
They stretch before class. They dive during dodgeball. They’re spiking volleyballs like it’s the finals.
Cool, great, good for them.

Then you’ve got the chill crew.
The ones who are there to check the box, toss the ball around, maybe jump into a game if the vibe is right.
That’s the group I would’ve lived in.
Just trying not to get hit in the face and maybe having a little fun along the way.

If your school gives you gym?
Play the games.
I mean that. Some of those games are fun, like actually fun. Don’t sleep on dodgeball, or sharks and minnows, or whatever made-up sport your gym teacher invented with three cones and a broken tennis racket. If it feels ridiculous, you're probably doing it right.

So no, I never had the classic gym class experience.
But I’d still play kickball right now if someone asked.
1000%. No hesitation.