Her legs were burning, her skin was sweaty, and the sun forced her to squint. But Angela Yu (12) didn’t mind. Not a single bit. After all, the breeze tickled her face and cooled her skin. The grass was soft and eased the ache in her legs. Her focus wasn’t on the sun, but on a frisbee, soaring toward her. 

Yes, her focus was on a frisbee. Not on the beast of extracurriculars she had been wrestling with. Not on the mountain of schoolwork she had been climbing. Not on the college applications that have been haunting her for weeks. But on something as simple as a plastic, bright orange, $10 frisbee.

Yu had been suffocating. 

The weight of her responsibilities squeezed out the last bits of energy she had inside of her. Ice skating gave her frostbite. Robotics made her feel mechanical. 

All she needed was a moment to step away, breathe, smile, and laugh as if she didn’t have a care in the world. 

All she needed was a break. 

And a break she got on the Friday right after finals. 

 Yu received an invitation to participate in a friendly ultimate frisbee tournament from 1-4 p.m.

It was a golden opportunity for her to escape her worries, even if it was only for a few hours.

The wind rushed past her as she sprinted after the frisbee. She guarded and evaded her opponents, jumped and dashed through the field, and smiled without any care in the world.

All the fatigue she felt didn’t matter. Even if she was sticky from sweat and overheated, none of it mattered. 

She was content, worry-free from the work that had been weighing on her mind. 

All thanks to the little, orange disk flying in the sky. 

The frisbee made its descent towards the ground, heading straight towards her. Her eyes, fixated on the piece of plastic, gleamed. She knew it was hers for the taking.

Yu leaped into the air, catching the frisbee, and it felt like she was finally able to catch a breath.