Never Give Up

On our refrigerator there has been a card saying “Never, never, never give up” (Winston Churchill) I would look at this but not really understand the true meaning. I believe you should never give up.

I’ve played baseball since I was five. I don’t remember ever taking time off since I started playing. I like playing on a team and more than that I love to play catcher. Since I was nine I have played on a travel baseball team. The most recent team I have been on is called Play Hard. I worked my way to being the starting catcher and leadoff hitter.

Playing catcher every game took its toll on my arm, last year my elbow started to hurt when I threw. I didn’t think much of it and thought it would be gone the next day. However, the next day at school it was painful to write. So, I decided to go to the doctor. After X-rays and examinations the doctor said that I would have to take three months off. Although that doesn’t sound like long it seemed like forever to me and I was devastated. After a grueling three months of not being able to play the sport I love, I was finally able to come back. Unfortunately, when I went back to playing catcher my arm still hurt. I felt so disappointed, I had done what the doctor said and my arm was still not better. I felt it would never heal. The doctor told me to give it a rest for three more months because I had a bruised elbow, tendonitis of the elbow, and inflammation of the elbow. I couldn’t believe it, after three terrible months I was going to have to deal with another three. I was not going to be able to play catcher in the national tournament we had qualified for. I felt like my elbow problem was never going to end. About this time I felt there was no hope left for me. In the biggest tournament of my life I was not going to be able to play. I went to the tournament, played a little and supported my team.

During this experience I did not give up. As hard as it was not to play all I focused on was the future and being back on the field. It would have been much easier to give up than to keep persevering. When other events in my life throw me a curveball I remember to never, never, never, give up.