Pole Vault Spikes: Pole vault has been a huge part of my life for the past 6 years. Covid has prevented me from competing for nearly a year now and it has been extremely hard for me. While pole vault is extremely difficult and tiring I find it calming and an escape from the stress of school and life. I have made so many close friends through track and field and learned countless life lessons and all of the lessons and gifts I have gained from the sport will always be a part of me for the rest of my life.
Passport: I included my passport because I have always loved traveling my whole life. Traveling to new and exciting places has always interested me because every time it shows you a new way of living. The people you meet and the experiences that come with them are things that you cant really get just staying in your hometown or your state. One of my favorite places I’ve traveled to was Peru for a service trip. To see 5 person families living in a small little hut with no electricity and 2 miles from the nearest store or school changes your entire perspective on your life and it makes you infinitely more thankful for everything you have.
Ski Goggles: Skiing has been a family tradition ever since I was about five years old. It was always a fun thing that the whole family could do together and enjoy. I included the goggles in my project because as hard as it can be to deal with your family it is always important to remember the good times that you have together.
Pocket knife: This is one of the worst and most useless pocket knifes there are but it was given to me by my grandfather a month before he passed away on my seventh birthday. It is something I always keep with me either in my pocket or my backpack.
Sunglasses: I love being outdoors, especially by the beach or pool. The sunglasses remind me of nice relaxing times of my life spending time with family or friends by the ocean.
T-shirt: This t-shirt relates back to pole vault in a way but more directly to my high school coach. My coach has cystic fibrosis and was told he wouldn’t make it past his 16th birthday but has lived past 60 and he attributes it to this phase his father used to tell him every day, “you cannot fail, you are the hero of your own story.” He would give these shirts to all of his athletes as a reminder that if you give everything your best you will always succeed. Even if you don’t fulfill your goal as long as you gave it everything you had then it still counts as a win because you always gain in some way, sometimes in experience or in various other ways. My coach would pass on all the lessons he learned throughout his life to us and it has made a hinge impact in all of our lives.
I like that the objects frame the words on the shirt. It’s cool that the words are horizontal but then the objects are tapered diagonally. The pocket knife directly in the center feels a little busy/lost to me. Maybe if you tried moving it off of the words or or under the words it would balance out the googles too. I think you did a good job balancing out such tall objects like the googles and shoes with such flat objects like the passport.
The story behind the shirt is so meaningful. I also love the motto and think it’s an important idea to apply in life, especially right now. Your coach seems like a cool person, I’m glad he beat the odds given him.