Persistence

by Lael Talmon

“He was a pioneer of his time. Using his determination and drive, he was able to achieve goals far beyond people's expectations.”

Growing up, I always looked up to my grandfather, Omri Talmon. One of—one of Omri's defining characteristics was his determined drive and his persistence to improve at everything he did. These characteristics led him to become a pilot, skipper, and an engineer. He was a pioneer of his time. Using his determination and drive, he was able to achieve goals far beyond people's expectations.

He created a groundbreaking piece of technology that is now scouring the surface of Mars and is aiding in new scientific discoveries. As a staff officer during the Yom Kippur War, in the headquarters of IDF Southern Command, Omri was the officer who delivered the battle plans for the crossing of the Suez Canal to Ariel Sharon, whom he knew well. He introduced the first Israeli astronaut, Ilan Ramon, to fly, and was an honored guest at the launch of the space shuttle Columbia. Even through all the hardships he faced in his life, he was able to persevere, and he continued to do so until his final moments. Omri's personality left a lasting impact on me as a person. Although I am still young and I've had less life experience than he has, I still carry the influences of these characteristics with me.

For example, going into my freshman year of high school, I wanted to play soccer on the school team. I loved playing the sport, but it was never going to be easy sailing for me. Prior to the start of my high school sports career, as well as throughout elementary and middle school, I suffered from strong sports-related anxiety. This kept me from performing to my fullest potential, and I was having a really hard time overcoming it. The same trend continued during my freshman soccer season at JCHS, as well as on my club team to an extent. While there were moments where I would break away from it and play to my full potential, it was not consistent, and my freshman soccer season ended in me being mad and disappointed in myself.

I really hated that feeling, and it was not something I wanted to continue to experience. In March of 2018 I began my spring club soccer season. My team had moved up a division, silver to gold, and there were new expectations for our team. We also went through a coaching change. Our new coach was one who… was one that I had when I first started playing soccer at the age of four. Although I came into the season injured, I felt an urge to become a better player, as playing time on this team was very competitive.

As I eased back into the practice schedule, I began to feel a lot looser when I played. Maybe this was because of my newfound success on the volleyball court, which gave me more confidence, or because of this unexpected coaching change. Regardless of that, I finally began to realize what I was capable of doing if I fought off the anxiety and self-consciousness and just threw myself out there.

Later… later on in the season after I had fully recovered from my injury, I became a starter on the team under another new and good coach and was rarely subbed out. The only time I would not start were when I miss practice for volleyball, and later school soccer, and even then I'd be subbed in soon after the game started. This also carried through to the school team. After getting limited minutes my freshman year, I became a starter in my sophomore year, and won Most Improved Player at the end of the season, most improved from the year before. It made me feel really good, that I was able to break away from my anxiety and play to the best of my abilities, and… and that I did not give up. I continue to cherish these characteristics passed on from my grandfather as I move forward in my life.