Have you ever worked so hard for something that you couldn’t fail? Whatever it is you have worked so hard for or done is right at your fingertips. I love the game of basketball and work so hard for what I do to get and earn a starting spot on my team. Hard work is the key to success, no question. How do you think Michael Jordan made the NBA after not making his high school basketball team his freshman year? He put work in to make it where he is today. Even though he's 6'6" and has a huge vertical, he still had to work. This whole essay isn't just about basketball, baseball, or grades. It's about hard work and the success it leads to.

I was out on the court just breathing in the cold air of fall approaching while summer was just glistening away. 2 months ago …..... I hear the birds chirping. Day after day this summer I would go out on the court and shoot, shoot, shoot. I got better and better as the days, weeks, and even months passed. My Mom asked me one day why I was always out there. I replied

"To be the best of my ability and be the best I can be for the love of the game". Touching the smooth skin of the basketball gliding through my hands, every time I released the ball it felt like I was in slow motion. T.K. basketball tryouts were coming up. I was at tryouts working my butt off like I did this summer I made the team because of it, and not only that but I got to start. That’s where hard work gets you. Keep going and going and don’t give up cause success is bound to come your way. And as I think back to today I'm so glad I put that work in and I'm not stopping now, I'm still going.

I would work out my legs every day and my upper body. This was more than just becoming stronger; it was a feeling of power inside me, and to get better at basketball, just to feel on top of the world. I would do around 100 leg raises and calf raise’s to build my muscles in my legs. I use to say "Man I wish I could touch rim". About two years ago, I said that looking up to the goal. I kept on working out about a year after that every day. Well, today was the day, to try my leap of faith. So I went outside to try to touch rim. I gathered my feet after stretching out, then I backed my feet up and took off running full speed at the goal. I felt like I was in slow motion gliding like a bird toward the rim. As I touched it I felt like I was a new me. I learned when you work hard for something it’s not impossible to conquer.

I use to throw baseball everyday when I got home from school last year. I learned during that period that if you throw too much your arm starts really hurting. It would feel like a fiery pain going up my arm. I would keep on throwing better, and better, faster and more accurate as weeks passed. I remember last year while doing that I hit one in my pond about 300 feet away. Hear the ding off the bat made my heart jump. I would work so hard that summer preparing for tryouts. Two months later I'm at baseball tryouts throwing to the catcher while coaches mouth is open behind me. All that work paid off. I got to pitch and be the lead-off batter for my baseball team. Still every time I go up to the pitcher's mound I feel like I'm in slow motion the way the ball releases from my fingers and the way the ball comes off the bat. When I used to think to myself "This is a waste of time" I'm so glad I stuck with it cause it sure paid off in the end.

Hard work is the key to success. I've learned over the years that success isn't given it's earned. You have to put the hard work in to get there. I used to think in my head "Why am I doing this?". But now I'm glad I did this and still am doing it. Have you ever wanted something so bad that you would do anything for it? Well this is exactly what this is about. Here I am today looking back on it and so glad I did. I've became a different and better hard working person because of all these events. Guess what? Now I am working toward another goal, winning our conference and being the best player on our team that gets a lot of assists and points and even rebounds. Yes, hard work is the key to success. Yes, I am calling on everyone out there to do the same to get what you want and succeed at what you love.