Nicholas Akin

Lisa Nordquist

ENGL COMP II

April 9, 2019

Shaping Me

Baseball has played a major role in my life. I have been playing the game for about

twelve years. The game has taught me a lot of lessons, and most of them I am able to carry over

into my own life. I believe that having a good work ethic, staying positive, and being able to

work with others are all good traits to have going through everyday life. These are some of the

lessons that I have learned in my years of baseball.

Baseball has taught me many things that I can use in everyday life. One of these is having

a good work ethic. I believe that having a good work ethic will help you out tremendously. There

is always a competition for something in your life, and if you do not work hard then there are a

lot of objects in this world that will be very difficult to receive. There are a lot of things that I

would not be able to do today if I had not learned how to work hard even when I am tired. No

matter the situation I have had to keep working hard to achieve my goals. Some people may

think it is too hard and give up, but that is not going to get me anywhere if I just give up. If I

want to be able to achieve something, I have to go out there and put the work in to reach that

goal. I cannot just wait around and hope that I can get there, or that someone will just hand it to

me. The best way for me to reach my goal is to work hard and never lose sight of my goal. The

goals that I have been able to reach through working hard mean more to me than some of the

things that have been just handed to me. The achievements that I am able to accomplish on my
own always feel better to me than the one that I receive help on. I believe that having a good

work ethic is a good to place to start when becoming an independent.

Another lesson that I have learned is staying positive. No matter the obstacle I always

have to stay positive, and not lose sight of my goal. There have been a lot of ups and downs

throughout my years of playing the sport. If I had not stayed positive I would have lost sight in

what I was trying to accomplish. I have to stay positive to reach the goals that I have worked so

hard to achieve. The moment that I lose my positivity is the moment that things start to go

downhill. If I do not stay positive then it just makes things that much harder to achieve, and it

makes things harder to work for. I believe that if I stay positive I will be more successful in life.

The more positive I am, the easier it will be to work hard towards my goal. Staying positive

helps me not give up on the goals that I have set for myself. It helps me keep pushing forward,

and not lose sight in what I am trying to accomplish.

The final lesson that I believe has made a big impact on my life is being able to work

with others. I have played with a lot of different people in my twelve years of baseball. I have

had to work with a lot of different personalities, and a lot of people who have different mind sets.

Being able to work with others is the most important to me. I have to go to school and work with

a lot of people every day, and if I do not like to work with others then it just makes my life a lot

harder. Sometimes I need help on certain things, and if I cannot work well with others then they

will not want to work with me. Being a good teammate transfers over into everyday life, and it is

something will help us in all stages of life. I believe that being able to work with others is the

biggest lesson that I have learned, and I think that it has helped me a life.

This is how baseball has shaped my life. It has changed the way I go through everyday

life, and the way that I carry myself. I believe that if I can bring all of these lessons together that
it will make me an overall better individual. These lessons have changed the way I go through

school also. I am able to take these with me anywhere I go, and I believe that they will make me

a more likeable person. I believe that it takes hard work, dedication, and being able to work with

others to be successful in life, and if I can bring all of these to the table and start young then I

think that I can go a long way in this world.