Archive for October 15th, 2004

2004.10.15

Last Pick

We’ve all known the kid who was picked last for every game on the playground when we were young. This aggravated me alot because, often, I was that last kid picked. It’s not that I wasn’t good at the games but because I was an outsider. I hadn’t grown up with the other kids because we moved every few years. It was a popularity contest and I wasn’t popular because no one even knew who I was.

This “last pick” irritation survives to this day. It’s true: someone always has to be last, just as someone always has to be first. However, no one is ever always last. Now I’m old enough to realize I don’t have to participate at all. Not that it matters because I’m also old enough to choose who I am hanging out with, and with my friends it doesn’t matter so much who’s first and last.

A guy I haven’t talked to in months walks up to me. “Hey, a few people can’t play volleyball today and no one else is available. Do you want to play?”

“You know what? No. If you only think of me as a last resort then it’s a waste of my time.”