I have been competing and cheering in Ranger Green for as long as I can remember.
My brother was already a Ranger by the time I was born. I grew up in the stands of his football games, basketball games, rugby games, and wrestling tournaments. I would wear his number or a shirt of Ranger Green to support him. Then, it was my turn.
I began doing sideline cheer as soon as it was available to me. I continued for the next four seasons with bows of Ranger Green in my hair. I thought cheer was the sport I would do for all of high school. I was wrong.
I have been golfing for the majority of my life. I spent five years golfing in orange and blue before I made the switch to Ranger Green.
Ranger Green has been the color of stress and joy. My days decked out in all green are full of laughter. I have put blood, sweat, and tears into every semblance of Ranger Green I own. Every piece knows the complexity of being a high-school athlete.
Golfing in Ranger Green was my favorite way to spend the fall. Every step, every swing, every shot was echoed in Ranger Green. At the moment of every match of every season, my life was focused on Ranger Green. I never wanted it to end. This past season, I ended my Ranger Green golf years for good at the State finals. I remember getting done with my last round of high school golf and thinking, “That’s it? That’s what all these years are going to end with?”
I know that is the exact feeling I will have soon.
Today, I will take off my Ranger Green 90 bib and likely never ski race again. I knew from the moment I started racing freshman year that it would never be more than a high school sport. Even more so than golf, my life has revolved around skiing. I’ve been skiing since the age of two with two to three trips to Colorado each year since I was seven. In the last four years, that love of skiing evolved into a love of ski racing. For the past two years, all I’ve thought about year-round was my next ski season. I started it early in Copper Mountain, trying to make my all-too-short seasons last.
They always end, just like my future in Ranger Green.
But here I am, about to end years of competing in Ranger Green, about to end a lifetime of Ranger Green cheers, unsure of how it will leave me.
Dressing up in Ranger Green has been the story of my life, and though I am excited to turn in my green for new colors next year, it won’t be the same. I’ll miss the cold winter air on my face when I wear my Ranger Green 90 bib and the orange leaves falling during my golf matches.
I’ll miss everything I’ve put into my Ranger Green years, but I know I won’t regret any bit of my effort.
