Pee-Wee Essay, Research Paper

Playing peewee football had always been something that I wanted to do when I was younger. I thoroughly enjoyed throwing the pigskin in the backyard with my dad, but I had never played football competitively. When I was around ten or eleven I decided to sign up for the peewee league. A major incentive for me to do this was the fact that I was a little on the chubby side, and instead of slimming down like other kids my age, I started to look like one of those elephant seals that just sleeps all day and only gets up to find some food. Also, my mom was making it worse by telling me that I was normal, and that I was just big-boned. It made me feel like she was trying to hide something. I was to be starting peewee practice in the next month, and since I was so excited, I told my cousin. Now, my cousin, at this time in my life, was probably the coolest guy that I knew; he wore Nike Air Jordan shoes, he put gel in his hair, and he had a girlfriend, so obviously I had to look up to him. I remember eagerly saying to him, My dad just signed me up for peewee football; I m starting next month! He just looked at me with a disgusted frown on his face and said, Football? You don t want to play football . I ve had a lot of friends who have been injured while playing football, and it s not that fun anyway. I was devastated, but I did not let my feelings show. I merely said, Yeah, you re right. I really didn t want to play anyway. Of course that s not what I truly felt inside. Playing peewee football was something I had wanted to do for a very long time, but I did not tell him for fear that he would consider me un-cool. Now, looking back on this experience, I wish I had stood up for my desire. So many times in my life, I have not followed my aspirations, for fear that they are not the norm, and I have regretted them every time. Although trying to help me, my cousin convinced me not to achieve my desire, but I see now that it was not his fault that I did not play peewee football, it was my own. I should not have listened to him. I should have listened to my heart, and been myself, not what he wanted me to be.

Throughout my high school career I have been plagued with this idea of fitting in . It has hampered my participation in many activities. I would have enjoyed being involved with things such as our school diving team, and possibly our robotics team, but never did for a reason as trivial as the fact that my friends would make fun of me for it. It is not until now that I have seen my costly mistakes, and the consequences that have resulted. It is only now during my senior year that I show my courage to achieve my goals. While almost every one else in my class is trying to ease through their senior year with short schedules and easy classes, I have decided to have as many challenging classes that I can fit into my schedule. This strikes some of my classmates as odd because they realize that most colleges don t even look at senior years for high school students, but I wanted my schedule to be difficult to learn and prepare myself as much as I could for college. Throughout my college career I will definitely not let anything get in the way of my plans, like joining sports teams, other clubs, or my academic work. Too many people get stuck in jobs that they hate, or they don t live the life that they want to, because they are afraid of what might happen if they try to follow an unknown path. There are many missed opportunities because of this lack of courage. I realize that this is something that I will never let happen to me. Although I am unsure of exactly what I plan to do with my life, when I do decide I will not let anything get in the way of my ambitions. To set goals for myself, and to carry out those goals to make myself a better person is now what is most important to me. Who knows, maybe if I would have played peewee football, I d become the next Joe Montana.