i made a difference!

[redlettervox]

so apparently everyone still on the team showed up to practice today, but then instead of having crazy insane hardcore nazi practice for every single precious second, coach just sat everyone down to have a nice big heart to heart that lasted for the whole hour and 15 minutes. according to what i heard from my fellow drill buddies, for the first time they actually were able to talk to her without feeling like they were being targeted or immediately shot down. they said they actually felt like for once she really listened to what they had to say, and was actually being understanding and considerate of their suggestions. i'm so glad that i actually managed to get through to her, and convince her to open up a little! i was surprised at how oblivious she was to the fact that everyone hates her... but i made sure to let her know that i wasn't the only one who had issues with her, and that the majority of the team had been offended by things that she did or said. so then today she actually opened up to the team and told them that if they ever had any issues, that they should be able to feel comfortable telling her or one of the officers so that it can actually be resolved. and then i also reminded her that it was an extracurricular activity, and that she shouldn't take it too seriously, or pressure us too much, because she had made it seem as though winning was all she cared about. so today, she promised to focus more on the team bonding and having fun and taking some time to relax aspect, and less on the winning aspect.
i can't even believe my quitting actually inspired her to start making changes for the better! now i can feel proud and accomplished in the fact that i took one for the team, so to speak. the only thing is, it sucks because now that things are improving, i'm off of the team! it's no fair!
but whatever. i've accepted it. i'll just take comfort in the fact that it wasn't completely in vain.