Motel's Death: A Short Story

It was the fall of 2003, a cool and cloudless California morning. My parents, who dressed me up with a polo shirt and khakis, waited patiently for the school bus as I looked fearfully at what was going to happen. I didn't want to leave my house, nor did I want to go to school. I was a shy boy, who didn't like doing anything but staying at home and minding my own business. When the school bus finally came, I climbed on to the yellow bus and looked outside fearfully as my parents waved goodbye. I was too scared for the first day of school, which helped me shape the person I am today. Throughout my life, I've been to different places, from Oklahoma to a whole different country in a different continent miles away. During that time, I was able to shape myself with the cultural experiences I got through being in a multicultural environment,

Then I began to spill out the emotions of never being able to compete in college sports. My competitive nature will always be a part of me, and now I would have to find something to replace my participation in organized sports. As I was writing this, other ideas began to flow. Attending such a close-knit school for four years, the next ideas inevitably began effortlessly pouring out: missing my peers and teachers, being

It put things into perspective and I couldn’t thank Coach Ed enough for sticking with me and my mom enough for letting me know that whatever made me happy I could do. Coach Ed was the reason I started and finished my AAU career of successful. During and after my senior basketball season, letters and phone calls from colleges started to flow in at a great rate. It boosted my confidence to say the least and that made my performance on the court a real show. It’s a great feeling to know that I didn’t take the easy way out of hard work and a little adversity. I stepped confidently to every challenge from that moment on. By quitting the team and getting another chance, I now have the wonderful opportunity to graduate college after 4 and a half years, with 4 years of school paid for. Or in other words, I wouldn’t get the honor of sharing my experience with

As I put off opportunities to improve my skills, and my character, the toll only became harsher and more difficult to overcome. In turn, my status among the other athletes began to deteriorate. Witnessing my peers expedite their game as I still struggled did not phase me so much at the time. In fact, I was sure that my role on the team would remain the same. This was obviously false, as within the matter of weeks I was pushed back further in the batting lineup, and committing more errors in the field than ever before. It was during our playoff run that I had realized the resulting detriment, when each player was counted on more than ever before. We ended up making it to the championship, only being one run short of winning. Although our team was able to accomplish that much, I felt short handed when it came to the successful

At the start of high school my life began to take a turn. Up to that point my life had been predictable. I had the same friends, played the same sport, and was still an introverted person. My life was bland. Baseball is what I grew up playing throughout my childhood. It was that sport I looked forward to practicing, playing, and enjoying. As I started to get older, the people and coaches I played with changed. I began to play less, and wasn’t improving every week like I had hoped. I even tried out for the school team, but I was cut. For these reasons, my dedication to this sport was deteriorated. Trying out for the school team wasn’t what I wanted to do, but it’s what I presumed everyone expected of me. Once I ran passed this realization, I stopped playing baseball. This is not how I envisioned the future.

An active lifestyle was enthusiastically encouraged by my parents for their three boys to support not only physical activity and growth, but a competitive spirit, and a sense of belonging with peers from my school and the community. Through hard work and practice I played at the top level for every sport that I tried out for. What I lacked in size I made up for with heart, hustle, and passion. Consequently, my personal compensation was the pride I earned through hours of practice to develop the skills needed to perform at the highest level.

As a child, I was taught that with hard work and determination I could achieve anything. Unfortunately, this is a myth, and limitations are a part of being human. I was forced to accept this reality during my junior year of high school. Ever since I was a little girl, I looked forward to playing varsity basketball on the orange and black court at Dalton High School. Finally, during my third year of high school, I was given the chance to start as point guard on the girls’ varsity basketball team. Suddenly, my dream turned into a nightmare, and I was sitting on the bench watching other girls play the game I loved. Gretchen Wald, a teammate, was experiencing the same problem. Luckily, she remained by my side throughout the experience. Together,

The biggest obstacle I faced was separating my role as an athlete from my identity. As the saying goes, I put all my eggs into one basket. Everything I knew, everything I loved, everything that made me happy revolved around a sport. Suddenly, the inevitable occurred. It ended. Now my weekends weren’t occupied by long bus rides. I wasn’t spending my free time in the athletic training room. The group chat with my teammates wasn’t being blown up with inside jokes and funny pictures.

My background has provided me with exposure to a widely diverse experience. Of course, through exposure to the therapeutic world, I was raised among physically, emotionally and intellectually challenged peers. In my athletic and academic career, I have had significant experience with persons who are from a wide range of ethnic and cultural backgrounds. Collegiate athletics has shaped my outlook on life and my future profession in an unusual way.

As I became older, entering my young teenage years in life, I took on the interest of playing sports for my middle school. I remember trying out for the girl’s basketball team in the summer going into the eighth grade. I know I had competition but I felt highly confident from the skills I gained during the previous years. Try outs were all morning and I caused my parents so much trouble from telling them in such a short notice. I anxiously waited for the final results, even though they weren’t posted on the gym door until later that evening. Later on that day I learned that I didn’t make

“He is a decent player, but there is something missing.” As an individual who did not start playing sports until the eighth grade, I encountered numerous difficulties. Throughout my career in sports, I was often younger, smaller, slower, and received fewer accolades than many of my teammates. I experienced more disappointment and had to fight much harder for playing time than most of my teammates. However, the more obstacles I faced and overcame, the more grit I developed. Then one day, I grew, and all of a sudden I was equally

With this in mind, I always felt that I had to prove my worth. Academic and athletic success was my saying, “You made the right choice.”. But hardships came; as we struggled financially, my parents continued to support my extensive tournament and travel

Demonstrating my potential academic future to my relatives, I intend to show them that there are brighter alternatives to their lives that come with striving for a better education. Under circumstances vastly similar to those of my relatives, I too have faced many hardships throughout my life. However, I resent none of them. Such hardships have built the determination that defines my perception of self-worth. Regardless of how distant my goals appeared to be, my direction remained unwavering upon the path that I believed would bring me success. That winter day stands to be a significant milestone in defining my character. After countless hours of physical conditioning, I moved on to defeat numerous opponents throughout the wrestling season and became the league champion of the junior varsity division. Similar to my goals of obtaining greater educational opportunities, I never gave up on myself in the face of adversity. Not once did I view my socioeconomic status as an unconquerable obstacle, but rather, I welcomed it as a challenge that would afford me a greater sense of appreciation for what I could accomplish on my

Native to all tales of America are accounts of achievement, people who took from their sweat and labor untold riches. The path to their goal was often marred by monumental obstacles, naturally different to every story. While my family constructed their own road for progress, I spent my time inside and outside the classroom making the greatest mark I could in my community. My time in high school was characterized by excelling spectacularly in academics while simultaneously working as captain of the soccer team

According to Samuel Smiles, “we learn wisdom from failure much more than from success.” This became emphatically clear during my Junior year. Suffering an ongoing illness kept me absent from school and practice far too often. Both academic and physical challenges were the result. As a student-athlete, maintaining exceptional grades and high competitive standards already prove difficult, thus time management, determination, and a strong work-ethic become a natural part of daily life. Illness complicates matters as making up lost time creates hardships in both areas. Failures in the class and in the pool proved to present some tough lessons.