The fact that they were even separated should tell you something. The gymnasium for the girls was wedged into the basement of Central Junior High. Brick-lined pink angled stairs led the path to our designated rectangular room. For just short of an hour we played each other, all wearing the same uniform. The compact room had few advantages. The only that comes to mind, when playing basketball or volleyball, the “out of bounds” was quite clear — it was a wall.

We played. We did have fun. A sweaty break from all of the thinking. And I’m not sure we would have even been aware of our subpar conditions, but for the fact that once a year we joined with the boy’s class, in their gym, for a few days of square dancing. The dance itself was humiliating, but beyond that — their gym!!!! Our mouths hung wide open, as if entering the promised land. The space. The windows. The light. The bleachers. It was clear. We weren’t playing on the same field.

There were only two choices. To be inspired. To be defeated. I chose, as I hope I always do, to be inspired. Life isn’t fair. So you shower-up, and learn. You grow. Take what you’re given and make it better, for yourself, and for the ones to follow. And it’s not to say that sometimes those walls don’t seem too intimidating. They can feel like they are closing in upon you. The desire to curl up in a ball can be overwhelming. But we have to keep climbing up. Climbing on. The light awaits. For all of us.