Personal Statement
Personal Statement
Natural talent. Some people are born with it; while others simply do not have it. Whether it is in a certain class, a musical instrument, or a sport, it seems that some people are just naturally better than others. For example, Mozart, who composed full songs at age five or Bo Jackson who played two professional sports at the same time. There will always be someone who is better than you in some area or another but this something that can be overcome.
I have been playing football for nine years of my life but an event in my sophomore year has been the made the biggest impact on the person I am today. As a sophomore I was pulled up to the varsity squad to learn and to become a better player. Being the “little kid” on my team , I had seniors whom I looked up to and aspired to be like. The two best players on my team were two seniors who played a similar position that I did. Both of them were college bound to play football. However, these two players were almost opposite in character. One was a natural athlete who could electrify the playing field with the big plays that he made. However this player was also lazy. Skipping practice, faking injuries, and not completing workouts was a regular thing for this player. I had heard all the time that hard work was necessary if one wanted to be good at something, but he seemed to do the opposite and was doing just fine. The other player was nothing like this. Every workout, he was doing extra of it to improve himself. This habit was not showed just in the sports that he played. It rolled over to his school work, his relationships with his friends, and his attitude on campus. A trait that made him a better person, was developed because of a game. He was not content with an average grade or an average game. Where both of these players ended up in college is no coincidence. The first player went to a junior college where the other player went to a competitive four year university on scholarship.
Being around these type of people showed me what it takes to become the person I aspire to be. The natural athlete who gave minimal effort on the field and in the classroom received minimal reward in the long run. At the beginning of the year I thought that hard work was important, but not as big as people had made it out to be. However throughout the season I watched the other person turned himself into what he wanted to be. The hard work and countless hours spent to get better paid off. He grew as a player and as a person while the other person stayed the same. As a person and a player he emulated the saying “hard work pays off.” I learned that natural talent is not something necessary to succeed in life. It can be overcome through hard work and dedication. I now truly understood that a dream can be turned into a goal. And from my two teammates, I learned that it is possible to attain my goals through hard work and dedication by doing everything in my power to make my dreams a reality.