A destiny that saw this duo eerily start as the only players in their age bracket in the team and continue to their final year as seniors, still as the only representatives in their age bracket and therefore the only members of the original team. A destiny which extended beyond their friendship and even their families.

Sent with predictable monotony to play on the far tennis courts, often dropped off in remote strange, scary places, regularly being left behind by the team bus for arriving fractionally late on all too frequent early morning starts, gave rise to the necessity to develop an uninterruptible literacy for two then highly vulnerable individuals. This literacy was so strong and fundamental that it became th

e very core of existence of this duo. They learnt to feel the sorrow, pain and joy of each other. They knew if they other was happy or sad, what each other was thinking, planning or expecting.

Traveling hundreds of thousands miles together in school bus without air conditioning in the heat of Texas, exploring, sharing different fast foods, music, rap, culture, social interaction, cyber-interaction and tennis rackets, premium branded jeans and sweaters created the “Bobsy Twins” analogous to a reverse fusion of Siamese twins. Voluntarily spending long hot grueling summers together in uncomfortable and sometimes dirty tennis academies far away from other friends and family further tested and solidified this bond. Their literacy was founded on the original values created by the older and senior members of the their team when they were highly impressionable freshman. They saw and adopted what they believed to be necessary to survive their plight as freshman in a hostile and competitive environment. They learnt what made them happy, what helped win and what did not work for them. They learnt to high five and low five to keep their momentum and spirit during the long and sometimes painful hours on court. They learnt that they needed to overcome their physical size disadvantage using mental techniques to out-psych their opponents. Most important they learnt the sheer power of their teamwork, a duo in tandem and perfect harmony. They used this power to beat older and more experienced players to earn the respect and attention they believed they deserved.

Some topics in this essay:
, Tarrant County, Benny’s Bagel, Carroll Duo, doubles team, literacy communication, unique community, solidified bond, age bracket, hand signals, friends family,