As a teenager, I was at a vexatious chapter in my life. Coming out of a small middle school, and thrown in to the mix at High School. My first sport I participated in was soccer. I made many good friends. Each year, the soccer program would create a citizenship project and help out someone else. Being involved in this made me realize how good I had it. My fresham soccer coach scrutinized many different organzations. In the end, we decided to help out the MAAC Fund. Helping someone else made me feel good inside and I already knew I became a better person.

This soccer season, my teamates and I advocated for better sprinkler systems on our stadium. The next year we got them. This goes to show that being a good person helps you in the end. My soccer coach would always told us, “What goes around comes around.” Now I see why he says it all the time. Being a good person isn’t an ineffectual quality,it’s a quality that sticks with you for the rest of your life.


Another chapter in my life was when I joined wrestling. This sport made life easier. My coach, John told us this, “Hard work beats talent, when talent doesn’t work hard.” The quote doesn’t lie. Being at those practices and morning runs for three months made me mentally tough. If you are mentally tough, anything is possible. After my second season of wrestling, I became more amicable. Coach would say, “You can do anyhting, it’s all in your head.”

My mom was another person who impacted my life. She raised me to understand that you have to earn everything you have in life. She showed me the way to being successful. To this day, she doesn’t have to hound me to do my homework, or yell at me to cut the grass or clean my room. I just do it. A lot of kids get yelled at, my mom and I have built this trust that I feel can never be broken. At times, I feel my mom has a nefarious plot against me; in the end, I know it’s all for my own good.

These are all pieces to the puzzle. The puzzle isn’t completed until you life has ended. Helping others, and using what you’ve learned to become a good person. At the end of the day, all that matters is if you can look in the mirror and say, “I believe I am a good person and can help others in need.” This isn’t a joke. I do it every day.

These leaders in my life have astute ways. Showing me how to be a good person and why it’s important. These are some pieces to the puzzle, and each one is significant.