“There’s always an opportunity with crisis. Just as it forces an individual to look inside himself, it forces a company to reexamine its policies and practices.” —  crisis manager Judy Smith

 When I read the first sentence of this quote, I felt an immediate resonation. Finding opportunity in a crisis defines character, and I believe that to be especially true with myself.

The word “opportunity” presents two options: either take what is given and make the most of it, or spoil it by ignoring it. During these times, this is easy to do. It seems like opportunity doesn’t even exist because we are restricted from doing just about anything. However, I have found new opportunities emerge from these restrictions that would not exist if it weren’t for this crisis.

There’s no denying it’s unfortunate to be a high school senior right now; in fact, that’s an understatement. While we can’t see our friends each day and faculty that we have become truly appreciative of, we are also potentially missing the special senior events, including Prom, Senior Costume/Field Day, Father-Son Breakfast, Baccalaureate Mass, and Graduation. The one that hurts the most for me and my teammates is our baseball season. I had anticipated this spring season for much longer than the four years I have been here, and this team had everything needed to win a state championship. It’s hard to imagine the countless hours of work put in won’t be able to be showcased.

My initial reaction to the likely cancellation of our season was self-pity. But after spending a few days of being forced to look inside myself, as the quote states, I realized I needed to change, and there were new opportunities presenting themselves. Thus, I started spending more time with my family, something that was almost impossible to do with school and baseball every day. Additionally, I began working out again to maintain strength. I even found areas to run sprints and hit wiffle balls.

While I took advantage of these opportunities, I believe that the one opportunity most important to utilize is appreciating the times I took for granted, which could be as simple as greeting a teacher while entering their class. So while I would never wish this crisis to occur, I realize that it presents opportunities to grow and appreciate the times that I failed to appreciate before.