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More handpicked essays just for you.
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I would like to open with a quote from Charles Swindoll. It reads, “life is 10% of what happens and 90% of how you react to it.” I am a firm believer of this statement because there will always be things out of your control, but your reaction will always be up to you. As for the positive experiences, those are the ones you cherish most, but the negatives are what teach you the most. After listening to my speech, I want you to understand how both the positive and negative experiences in my life have benefitted me. I was able to develop significant skills and relationships through the major events in my life. The first event that monumental in my personal development would be my father going overseas to Iraq with the National Guard in 2006. …show more content…
In particular, I want to talk about my experiences playing football and baseball. First, at the school I attended they did not have a football team so I figured I was out of luck. However, I discovered there was a club team that anyone in the county could play for. I joined the team as soon as I found out about it, which was in sixth grade. I played all the way through my senior year of high school. What made these times so enjoyable was the family type bond shared between all of the players and with the coaches. The coaches were father like figures, who were there to teach us more than just football. They cared more about us being outstanding young men than they cared about the type of players we were. Sure, they wanted to win as we all did, but they were interested more in developing our characters. This team dynamic made the one hour commute each day well worth …show more content…
I played that kindergarten through my senior year of high school. I always had positive experiences with this sport, but my high school team was extra special. To start, we had three of the best coaches: one a father, one a former player, and one that just loved the game of baseball. The players were also a tight-knit group where everyone truly cared about their teammates. The best way I can illustrate this is through a heart wrenching story. It was the second round of playoffs my senior year and we were playing the second best team in the conference. The game was a nail biter, but we were in the driver’s seat to complete the huge upset. We were up one run in the last inning of the game so all we had to do is get one more out. The opposing team had runners on second and third, who were very close to scoring. The next batter comes to the plate and we get two strikes on him. All we need is one more strike. Then it happened. The batter hit a bloop single, which is a term for a weakly hit ball that falls behind an infielder. Two runs scored. My team lost and we were only one strike away from advancing. We were heartbroken and extremely emotional because it was hard to believe our high school sport careers would end like this. We gathered on the field as we always did, but this time it was completely quiet. Then, our coaches told us that they viewed all their players as their own sons. This comment in such a difficult time showed me and the rest of the team
The first team I ever played for was Tobers Party Store. For some kids growing up, baseball was just another way to pass time during the summer, away from the grind of public school. For me it was everything. From the moment my eyes snapped open in the morning, until the time I slipped away to sleep, I had baseball on my mind. I loved to play baseball, watch baseball, and talk baseball. Nothing else mattered. Eating and sleeping were just "necessary evils" that took precious time away from my hobby. I anxiously awaited the day when I would be drafted into the professional ranks after a successful college career. Bubbling with excitement, I would explain my inevitable career path to anyone who would listen. Of course, the responses were less than empowering. "Do you know how good you have to be?", and the tried and true " Go to college and get a real job", were two of the more popular sentiments that the "opposition" hurled at me. Naturally, in my 10 year old mind, I knew they were delusional and I would prove them wrong.
when I was ten years old I lost my grandpa, it was a very bad experience for me but it made me stronger. I remember when he taught me how to catch a baseball, ride a bike, mow the lawn and a lot of other things that I will forever cherish in my heart. the memory I will never forget though is when he taught me everything I needed to know about baseball. we would always go outside together and he would do certain agilities with me to build my stamina, teach me how to catch a pop-fly and he would work on pitching with me which is actually one of my main position that I play today. baseball was a big part of my grandpas life and he always wanted me to play In the major leagues. once he passed away my motives for playing in the major leagues increased.
A person does not experience many events that shape their life in a large way, whether it be for better or worse. I have had just one major situation that has sculpted me into the person that I am today. In February of 2008, I was diagnosed with a life changing disease; it would relieve me of the agony I had been experiencing for as long as I could remember, but also restrict my diet for the rest of my life.
Growing up, my brothers participated in many sports activities. They played hockey in the winter and baseball in the summer. Practice was held once a week and a game was scheduled for the weekend. The coach was usually a volunteer teacher or a parent of a teammate. In my brothers’ free time, they simply played whatever sport or game they wanted to play. Youth sports have changed in the pas...
In my life I have played baseball with more people, played in more states, and played on more fields than there are minutes in a day. That’s a lot of baseball. This sport means more than just playing a game. Throughout this sport I have had to perform in tough situations and I have had to come up clutch in key situations. I have had to pick everyone’s head up and become the leader when we needed it and more than anything I have had to watch my team and self fail. Baseball is more than just hitting a ball with a bat and outscoring the other team. This sport makes you learn key life skills such as teamwork, failure and success, confidence, performing in clutch situation, and most of all taught me to always keep my head up.
One of the biggest fears I have had to overcome in high school is my fear of public speaking. I was always comfortable in the classroom; I loved discussing current events and explaining different biology and history to my friends, but I could not stand in front of them to give a presentation. Whenever I stood in front of my classmate speak, I would begin to shake so much that I could not read any notes I may have brought up with me. I was an absolute wreck and I hated that I could not overcome my phobia; however, my fear of public speaking is incredibly ironic because my sister teaches public speaking on a collegiate level. When I told my sister that I was horrified of standing up and speaking in front of my classmates, she was surprised. My sister told me that I could not let my fear stop me from speaking because I would likely never get over it. In addition, she
My early life has led me to where I am today in many different ways. When I was four years old, I was diagnosed with high myopia, an eye condition that causes severe nearsightedness. Three years after my diagnosis, my hospital referenced me to be treated abroad, since my condition was proven to be congenital. Unfortunately, my parents could not afford the cost, so they tried to get me a sponsor by entering me into a non-for-profit German Church School. In this school, I stayed back one year because even though I had finished first grade they only accepted students beginning in the first grade.
When I first started playing baseball, I didn't have many friends at all. I was fairly introverted, spending most of my time indoors. I read a lot and didn't bother talking to people because I had literature to keep me company. Then, I started playing baseball at age 8. I was in a completely new environment with people I didn't know, and I was terrified. However, everyone who was on the team(as well as my future teams) treated me with the same camaraderie that old friends would have. Needless to say, I integrated instantly. I was thankful for my choice in playing because I ended up making new friends for the first time in my life. I ended my first season of baseball with a whopping 9 new friends. As I stated before, baseball boosted my self-esteem. It allowed me to break out of my shell and have fun for once. I remember an old game from back in my third season of playing. I had the time of my life, better than anything I did. I had fun, I got my first official home run. The feeling was phenomenal, and I got cheered by my entire team as I ran to home base. I was 10 years old at the time. It helped boost my self-esteem, having helped win the game. Very few things bring me that feeling of glee I felt when I hit that first home run. When I quit at age 16, I felt a sort of loss. However, I was still able to continue on with my life as my friends were still there. My attitude towards life didn't change
Participation in sports has proven to increase self-discipline and self-esteem, and can teach athletes to learn from their mistakes and move on (Issitt). Athletes playing team sports also develop the ability to work well with others and use teamwork in their everyday lives. Teammates form relationships that are strengthened over a common passion and goal. These relationships can last long after high school is over (Chen). These social skills translate into better communication used with an athlete’s family, peers, and in the community. Likewise, “A 2006 study in Maryland found that student athletes are 15 percent more likely than non athletes to be involved in their communities and to take the time for civic engagements, including participating in voting and volunteer activities” (Issitt). The same study also concluded that athletes are far more likely to be comfortable with public speaking than non-athletes. This study provides concrete evidence that high school sports can help to gain mental and social skills that will be used later in life
Everyone has a story, a pivotal moment in their life that started to mold them into the person they are today and may even continue to mold you to the person that you will become, I just had mine a little bit earlier than others. When I was three years old my brother became a burn survivor. It may seem too early for me to remember, but I could never forget that day. Since then, I have grown, matured and realized that what my family and I went through has been something of a benefit to be and an experience that has helped me in deciding what I want to do with the rest of my life.
Growing up in Alabama where the weather changes as quickly as a couch potato's remote and football is the epitome of life lead to an interesting childhood. Scarred knees, dirty clothes, and climbing willow trees were part of my every day life. As I progressed through middle school I began to associate with kids older than myself because we would indulge in playing basketball during recess. Although I was eleven at the time I could hold my own on the basketball court against the fifteen and sixteen year olds. It was during these times at the basketball court they would share their experiences in life amongst us and I often felt left out. Being t...
Being part of a team creates a bond between teammates that can last a lifetime. Also, enduring the criticism of the coaches distills proper direction and discipline that you would likely not learn off the field. In “The Real New York Giants”, the author, Rick Reilly, writes about how a football team of firefighters loses many teammates and friends due to the attacks on September 11th, 2001 on the twin towers, and how the bonds and closeness of that group helped them to keep playing football and honor their fallen friends whom they became so close with through the sport (**insert beginning pg #). While in this certain circumstance, the importance of sports did not affect
When I turned six years old I was old enough to play on a Little League team, and my father volunteered to be the coach. He worked long hours but always found enough time to dedicate to the team. At first our team was not very good, but that would soon change. My father practiced us hard every week and by the end of the season we made the playoffs. Even though we did not win the Championship that year, our team had reason to be proud. We won a few games, and we had a lot of fun, thanks to my dad. I played baseball for a total of ten years, and he was my coach for at least half of them.
The sports of today have changed the way the players play the game. Starting on the professional sports level, bad sportsmanship behaviors, like the use of steroids or "throwing" a game or a match in an effort to please the sports gambler trying to get their big pay-off, has trickled down through the college level and even down to the high school level. One person recalls the days when athletes played their sport for the love of the game, because it is what they lived for. They remember when they were younger, sitting in their grandfather's lap and watching the Atlanta Braves (in the days of Dale Murphy, Bob Horner, Glenn Hubbard and other great names in Braves history) running out on the diamond every game. In fact, they quoted country artist, Collin Raye, saying [I've been] "a Braves fan even through the rotten years". Watching these games, they remember looking up at their grandfather’s face and seeing the look he had in his eyes by watching these guys play their sport from the heart. Now, years later, sports have been threatened by strikes. The athletes playing now aren't playing because they love to, but now it's more about the money and how much they can make. Sports of today are tainted and don't come from the heart. The kids today need to be taught what it was like "in the good ole' days" and how playing sports teaches an individual about how to work with other people and how to pull together as a family.
Self-awareness is not about reading a book or attending a course. Self-awareness is a journey, and it takes practice. It’s like a muscle that becomes more effective with time and effort. It gives us mental strength as opposed to physical strength. We are constantly changing and adapting to the multiple external forces around us and to our individual experiences. The more we learn to be aware of, and understand, our reactions, thoughts, and emotions, while also keeping in mind our values, the more we can become the best we can be and the more successful we can become.