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Andre Agassi's Open Essay

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In Andre Agassi’s autobiography Open, Agassi provides an in-depth description of his childhood and the pressures that burdened him throughout his life. From an early age, Agassi was primed to become the best tennis player in the world. Agassi’s father, Mike, forced the sport of tennis upon him. Andre would be forced to hit thousands of balls every day. “My father says that if I hit 2,500 balls each day, I’ll hit 17,500 balls each week, and at the end of one year I’ll have hit nearly one million balls. A child who hits one million balls each year will be unbeatable” (Agassi, 28). This heavy and inordinate workload proved to wear on Andre as his childhood went on. Agassi developed a hatred for tennis. He describes his relationship with tennis by saying, “I hate tennis, hate it with all my heart, and I still keep playing,... because I have no choice.” He goes on to say, “This contradiction between what i want to do and what I actually do, feels like the center of my life” (27). Andre never got the chance to develop his own goals and expectations. Eventually, he pursued his father’s goals even though that is not what he wanted. “I’ve internalized my father- his impatience, …show more content…

In a talk given in the October session of the 2010 semi-annual LDS General Conference, President Thomas S. Monson stated, “every worthy, able young man should prepare to serve a mission. Missionary service is a priesthood duty—an obligation the Lord expects of us who have been given so very much. Young men, I admonish you to prepare for service as a missionary” (Monson). Ever since, church leaders and parents have been urging children to prepare for the opportunity to serve a mission. Due to the prodding from my parents, I reluctantly took the call and started to prepare. Soon after, I began to question if a mission was what I wanted to do. I privately looked into all my options and concluded that I mission was in fact a good goal to

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