It was a warm, breezy afternoon and it was my first freshman golf match. I never played competitive golf before, so I didn’t know how everything worked. I was a smaller boy freshman year, so carrying a golf bag was difficult. Therefore, I used a pull cart when I played. I got this. I’m going to play my best round ever, I thought.

However, as I headed to the starting hole, nobody else on my team or on the opposing teams had a pull cart. As I reached my hole, I heard snickering about “the loser with the pull cart.” My heart plummeted, as I knew they were talking about me.

As I glanced back, it was an opposing team member. Great, time to get the daily bullying just like in middle school. Just suck it up, and play your best, Aaron, you can do it, I thought.

That wasn’t the case, though, because every golf shot I took (likely caused by the raging anxiety) I was made fun of and laughed at. When I finished, I felt insecure, ridiculed, and alienated
I thought I should quit golf, but those thoughts were washed away by a gentle hand on my shoulder. It was a teammate who was in the group behind me.

“I saw what happened out there, Aaron. Don’t listen to them. They only degrade you to make sure you don’t rise higher than them,” he said.

From then on, the meaning of “One Team” showed me how to stop bullying.

As “One Team,” my teammates and I stood up for each other, never letting each other feel inferior. And after our efforts, the golf team was awarded the sportsmanship award by the other high schools.
At my school,  we are open, accepting and welcoming. If someone messes up, we help them. If someone falls down, we help them. And if someone feels alone, we make them feel apart of “One Team”. If teams stepped up like mine did, we could end bullying in all schools and nobody would have to feel belittled or bullied like I was.