Everyone Started Somewhere

I was always good at school.

My friends would come to me for schoolwork or help on a problem (besides math and physics, I went to them). I always studied, I chose staying home instead of going out. Sadly, my GPA was never as high as it should have been since my school focused on AP weighted GPAs and I only took one junior year since I couldn’t afford $90 tests (APUSH gang). I would actually cancel plans with my friends to study for a test... yes I was that person.

The thing is, school never came easy to me, I had to work for it. Like anything in my life, I had to work immensely hard for it. You can hand me a baton in a relay and I would be flying around the bend. But of course there’s more to it than just being handed the baton. Practice, learning, and patience. Three simple things people tend to forget when they pick up on something new.

There’s a blind reach or an open grab. Over and under. Right or left hand depending if y’all switch hands. (Luckily I normally anchored so I always just switched it to my right hand oops) but nothing should be just handed to you in life, you should work for it. This way you feel more successful in your own skin. Or that’s how I look at it at least. And my teammates and I practiced hand offs so many times in fear of dropping it and being disqualified.

I see so many people try one thing, fail the first time, and give up. I mean unless you really truly cannot do something aka me with dance and me with pole vaulting. Patience is key when you are trying to learn something new. I promise you it will be worth the triumph in the end.

I already know all the successful people keep trying and trying. You have to fall a couple times to get back up and keep going. I believe you have to fail a couple times to learn to be humble anyways. You can ask any of my friends, my go to quote is “always stay humble and kind.” Thank you Tim McGraw for those wise words. Remember this is just what I believe, some people are naturally born good at everything. A friend of mine can be handed anything and do it perfectly within minutes. Kind of mind boggling.

Then there’s me who wanted to decrease her track times, I had to work out before school several times a week and then have track practice after. Do not forget about the dedication. I mean in the long run this caused issues upon issues with body image and eating. I was always picking at my body trying to find what can look better because I did not have the normal runners body at all. I was bulky when a runner should be slim. It took me years to figure out every body type is different and not one was alike.

Which is something I had to remind myself when I saw a friend catch onto a drill in soccer faster than me. Everyone is different. Some individuals can pick up on things faster than others. It just depends on who you are.

So stop beating yourself up for something you simply can’t control. You’re bigger than that. You are capable of what you want to accomplish, I can promise you that.

The hockey player at one point had to learn how to skate.

The runner had to figure out how to pace themselves.

The soccer player did not know how to kick a soccer ball at first.

The dancer most likely could not step to the beat.

The singer had to learn how to sing from their gut.

The figure skater had to fall so many times on the ice before landing.

The baseball player probably missed each pitch before they got a home run.

Everyone started somewhere.

Keep climbing, keep pushing. You will succeed. You will feel accomplished.