Over the years, I have noticed some people live life just going through the motions. They don’t work hard to do anything and go with the flow of whatever comes their way. I believe in the idea of working hard to attain your goals. From a young age, I have been taught by my parents that I can achieve anything as long as I set my mind to it. I didn’t always believe in this, but my experiences have proven it to be true.

One of my first realizations of this was when I was ten. This was the first summer that I got serious about playing baseball. However, I had done nothing to get better from the year before. Because of this, when I tried out for the summer team, I didn’t make it. I was very upset, yet it inspired me to work harder to make the team next year.

The summer I was eleven was the most important year. Players that made this team were eligible to play at Cooperstown Dreams Park, a very pristine baseball tournament. Since I wanted to get better and have the opportunity to go to this tournament, I asked my mother if I could join an AAU (Amateur Athletic Union) baseball team. This way, I would be able to practice during the winter and play more during the spring, on top of the town’s spring season. When she said yes, I was so excited to get the extra work in and promised that I would give nothing but my best effort during all the practices and games.

During these winter practices my dad, my coach, and I decided to focus on my weakest skills, my hitting and my fielding. Because of my lack of speed, we decided to work on hitting the ball into the air because if I hit the ball on the ground, it was an almost guaranteed out. Once I started getting better at hitting, we started to really focus on my feilding. I was never a very good fielder, but now that I was moving up in the level of play, I needed to get better. Since I had a strong arm, the coaches always put me at third base, so that’s where I took all of my repetitions, which are practice ground balls. I practiced these skills from October to February, and because of my efforts, I was much more prepared for the spring season than I ever had been in the past.

When the spring town season started, you could really see the progress I made over the winter. I was now hitting more line drives and fielding the ball smoothy. Also over the winter, I worked very hard on my pitching. The summer team needed a lot of arms, so this would help my chances to make the team. So, when I pitched a shutout in the championship game of the spring town season, the chances of me making the summer team was looking extremely good.

When I finally tried out for my 11 year-old summer baseball team, I made it. I obtained my goal because of all of the hard work I put in during the offseason, from my AAU baseball program, town practices, and practicing in my backyard with my dad. I gave it everything I had and showed it all at tryouts.

Working hard is a great way to achieve your goals. No goal is unachieveable as long as the effort is put in. I also believe that people should work hard in everything they do. The grind shouldn’t just be for when you want to achieve something. Yes, it does help you reach your goals, but this mindset should be applied to your chores at home and your school work. If you work as hard as you can, you will be able to say that you did all you could, and that's what anyone really wants, right? To know that they worked their hardest? In my opinion, this philosophy is the key to a fulfilled life.