This I Believe

You know when you look inside the windows of American Eagle, and it has the posters that say ‘Live Your Live’? Those words give me inspiration every time I walk out of the store. I want to live my life and be on the look out for opportunities to make it better. It also makes me believe that live should not be wasted. Maybe about a year ago, my brother was pretty involved with the basketball team at Har-Ber. From the start of the season, through all the summer practices and camps, he was there. When he wasn’t at home after school, there was only one possible place he’d be: at school, in the gym. During regular practices, my parents didn’t mind picking him up at 5:30 pm sharp. With my brother though, that wasn’t likely most of the time. For some reason, we’d always be the last car in the parking lot, all other players were gone and he would come jogging out around 5:45 or sometimes at six. My parents didn’t want to put up with it for long, where they had enough worries on there minds. They often gave him the same talk about being responsible, don’t be selfish and think about your family. Frankly I got really tired of it.

I didn’t expect it to get worse, but it did. The same year, which was his sophomore year, his grades started to drop and it made my parent upset because they want him to get a scholarship. Then he turned 16, and he had not gotten his license like other people and didn’t start driving until this summer. He seemed to be falling behind and missing out on life’s many opportunities and life itself. My dad always told him that life is always moving forward and he’s struggling to catch up. Mom and dad then started to consider making him quit the team and focus on academics, then he kept insisting that he was getting better. I though he could play well for anyone, but I never pictured basketball as his career. I wanted to tell him to stop and take a look around. He was 16 and his life was revolving around one or two things. Parents say life is too short so live it to the fullest. I know I knew that, but I didn’t think my brother did. I believed that there are many other opportunities before and after graduating high school besides basketball.

I believe that life is very valuable so I do not want it to slip away. Nowadays, my brother still plays, but I see that he’s slowly getting better at responsibility. Life should never be wasted, this I believe.