An Important Life Lesson

If you were to ask me to tell a group of kids some important life lessons, I would probably say, Don’t do drugs, Don’t drink before you’re twenty-one, Listen to your parents, and Go for what you want. I believe that one of the most important traits about somebody is Perseverance. Dictionary.com defines Perseverance as “Steady persistence in a course of action, a purpose, a state, and so on, especially in spite of difficulties, obstacles, or discouragement”. A quote by Ray Bradbury states, ”I know you’ve heard it a thousand times before. But it’s true- hard work pays off. If you want to be good, you have to practice, practice, practice. If you don’t love something, then don’t do it.” I think that if you really want something, you need to work as hard as you can to for it. Just keep going until you reach your goal.

I’ve haven’t worked out or been very active much as a teen. Most of the kids my age are outside playing basketball or football, but I usually stayed inside. You could probably tell that just by looking at me. I’m about 5’10’’ and weigh about 110 pounds. At the beginning of 2009, my dad and I went to sign me up for the Fire Fighters Cadet program at his fire department. Just this month, (May) we found out about the tests I need to pass in order to get into the Cadet program. There will be an Oral, Written, and Physical test that I need to pass. Well I know that I can pass the Oral and Written tests, (products of staying inside so much as a teen) but I’m not sure about the physical test. For the test, we will have to pull a ladder off a Fire truck and set it up two different ways up against a building, we will have to do multiple cardio (heart) tests, and we have to do a tire pull. For the tire pull, we will be strapped to the tire and have to pull it in two different positions, from the start point to the checkpoint and back in under six minutes. I’ve started working out as often as possible to help myself prepare for the test, but I’m not sure it will be enough. If I end up making it, I will be proving something to myself. I’ll prove to myself that that anybody can come back from a lazy streak to being active because they tried their hardest.

This I Believe.