Hard Work Pays Off
By Kayla
Being the baby of the family, everyone always says that you have things easier and that you get away with a lot more. That might be true in aspects such as being in trouble and discipline, but not when it comes to working hard to build a future. I come from a family of five and yes I am the baby. I have an older brother and sister.
Ever since I was little I remember my life has revolved around sports. Whether it was playing in the yard with my brother or on an organized team. I was always doing something to be physically active. There wasn’t a time in the summer that I wasn’t outside doing something. That’s really rare to see now a day. Drive down the road and look around. You don’t see the kickball games, the basketball games or just kids outside playing. It’s a really sad thing but it’s true. I played softball, gymnastics, volleyball, and basketball.
Going into high school, I knew where my heart belonged and that was with basketball. I decided to give up all my other sport teams and focus mainly on basketball. I did still play them with friends but it wasn’t for a team or organization. I played AAU basketball, I went to camps and I had a personal trainer that I worked with before practice and on weekends (7 am to be exact). I knew that nothing was going to be given to me I needed to work harder than my teammates and even harder than the other teams. It came to the point I would have a basketball in my hand working on my skills and knowledge of basketball at least 6 days a week.
I kept pushing myself to be better and achieve my goals. I set some pretty hard goals for myself as a freshman, and wasn’t going to let anything get in my way. Some of the goals I set were to become a varsity starter, to lead the county in threes, to become an all-state basketball player, and last but not least to achieve a basketball scholarship. I am not going to lie there were set back and hard times, but I never took my sights off the prize at the end. Those are some amazing achievements but the biggest achievement that I accomplished was becoming the first person in my family to go to college and earn a degree.
At the college of Edinboro University, I graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Health and Physical Education, with a minor in athletic coaching. With that degree, I was able to become a Physical Education teacher; I can now share my passions of health and fitness with my students. I am lucky enough to have a teaching job at one of the most prestige all-girls school in the area, Hathaway Brown. I think it is amazing to teach at an all-girls school because I have been where they are. I have done what they have done and can help lead and guide them in a way that is unique to each girl.
My passion for sports, fitness, eating healthy, and having a dedication to hard work, has led me to this life that I would not change for anything. In high school, I heard a saying that I will never forget. I apply it to almost every aspect of my life. I hope that you can use it too: “Remember, no matter the job big or small do it right or not at all”. This goes with school, life, jobs, and friendships. You have to put in effort, dedication, and work to make it successful and blossom.
