Personal Narrative: How Baseball Changed My Life

Growing up in my house something baseball related was always going on. I made the decision to dedicate my life to baseball when I was young. Baseball became more than a sport to me. It was not just an activity to do after school anymore. It became much more than that. Baseball is what changed my life and has taught me valuable lessons in many different ways. Going into my freshman year I received the worst news I could think of, I did not make the travel baseball team I had tried out for. This ignited a passion inside me and made me realize one very crucial aspect of life. Nothing in life is guaranteed and you have to work for it. The moment I heard I did not make the team I was focused and determined to do one thing, get better. I was immediately in the gym trying to get bigger, faster, and stronger. I spent countless hours each night during the week perfecting my game and fixing any flaws I had. I had one goal after that day and it was to prove the coach who cut me, that it was a mistake.
I started to work harder than ever before. Being told you are not good enough takes a toll on your self confidence. I had to prove to myself that I am good enough and with hard work I can achieve anything. This made me realize that nothing in life is handed to you and you have to work hard at whatever challenge is

A couple weeks after I had been cut I earned a spot on another travel team. I accepted the offer with a chip on my shoulder still wanting to prove the other coach wrong. This gave me a little reassurance of my skills, but I still had the mindset to show the coach that he made the wrong decision in cutting me. Just a month later the coach who cut me saw me at a practice and offered me a spot on the team I originally had been cut from. I accepted the spot with the attitude and determination to still show the coach he made the wrong initial