By Aseel Barghuthi,
Amman Baccalaureate School,
Amman, Jordan.

I have a bruise above my left eye.

It barely shows, but I like it.

It's a scar I'll wear with pride.

It's a scar I was given during the last game I'll ever play for the Amman Baccalaureate School Stallions.

I never thought I'd see the day when my high-school basketball days would come to an end. It always felt like it would be a phase that would go on forever--that no matter what happened, I'd still be there, on the A.B.S. basketball court, dribbling the ball, shooting the ball, and passing the ball.

I've been on the team for the past four years, and each year is jam-packed with memories. Not only of made-shots, but of the frequent air-balls that taught me what good sportsmanship was all about.

Of course there will always be the coulda's, woulda's and shoulda's, but at this specific moment, looking back at the four years, I am 100 percent convinced that there is not a single thing I would do differently. Well, maybe I would learn a little faster, and accept my mistakes a little quicker, but nevertheless, the four years I spent on the A.B.S. Varsity basketball team are years that I will treasure for the rest of my life.

I'm happy with my accomplishments on this team. I'm also happy with the way I've developed throughout my time spent with this team. Whether or not I am given the privilege of playing for the Duke University Blue Devils, where I will be attending school next year, I will always be an A.B.S. Stallion at heart. I will forever carry with me the memories that lead up to this very moment.

Winning tonight's game was great for our team spirit, and you can almost say our season went out with a BANG. A 75-21 victory type of bang.

While re-watching the game tonight (a friend of mine taped it for me), I realized that the team has come a long way, and I know deep inside that part of the departing seniors will remain within the team, no matter what happens. Four of our players scored in double digits tonight, and I scored a career high of 34. Four years ago, I rarely scored in double digits, let alone scored. But today I'm a different player, and a satisfied player.

On July 6th, however, it's not going to matter how many points I scored during this last game, and it's not going to matter how many points I scored in any game. That's when tryouts take place at Duke for the women's basketball squad.

What is going to matter is that I give the Duke basketball camp my best shot--that I show them what I can do. But most importantly, what's going to matter is that I show them a little A.B.S Stallion spirit. Because that's what's brought me this far, and that's also what's going to carry me even further.

Ending your high-school basketball experience is difficult. Partially because you don't know what you're going to be faced with in college, and partially because you know you're no longer going to play side by side with the teammates you've grown to accept as family ...

I have a bruise above my left eye.

It barely shows, but I like it.

It's a scar I'll wear with pride.

It's a scar I was given during the last game I'll ever play for the ABS Stallions.

#68, Aseel

Aseel Barghuthi is in her senior year at Amman Baccalaureate School, in the country of Jordan, where she plays both point guard and shooting guard on the school team. She has also lived in the United States (Athens, Georgia) and England. To contact Aseel with any comments or suggestions, e-mail her at aseel@index.com.jo