To someone who is ready to quit,
I know how you feel.
You come home from practice/class/rehearsal fed up because you just don’t want to do it anymore. You’re tired of people consistently not showing up when you make numerous sacrifices to be there every week. You hate how you work your butt off getting ready for the game, the meet, the performance, or the competition, and other people seem to care less as they constantly goof off and never pay attention. You’ve had enough of the disrespect that your teammates or peers show towards your coaches or teachers and you’re sick of having to suffer and be blamed for other people’s lack of incentive. Ultimately, it has gotten to the point where you just don’t like going anymore because it’s not how it used to be and you don’t know why you put yourself through it each week. Or, you want to quit for another reason.
It’s that one person or group of people who make it so miserable for you that nothing is worth putting yourself through that. They pick on you, they tell you that you aren’t good enough, that you can’t be friends with them, they talk about you behind your back, and ultimately they make you hate doing what you thought you loved. As a result, you come home everyday crying and questioning why you still continue to subject yourself to the “mean girls” (or guys), and why you let them get to you so easily. You beg your parents to take you out of dance or karate class, or let you quit playing what you thought was your favorite sport, claiming that you just don’t like it anymore.
I’ve been through it too and I’ve experienced both scenarios.
While it may seem that quitting will make everything better, I’m here to tell you that if you quit, you are going to regret it for the rest of your life. You would be giving up on something that you love, and something that you were meant to do for a long time- you just might not know it yet.
I want you to understand.
Your teammates and peers want the same end goal as you, they just show it in a different way. It's not that they don't care, they sometimes just don't understand what it takes to reach those goals like you understand. On the other hand, the people that are picking on you are simply jealous of you and envy you. They know that they can’t hit homeruns like you can, they know that they will never get the lead role in the play that you rightfully earned, and they know that they will never be able to remember the dance routines like you so easily do. Most of all, they envy your passion for what you do, and they know that they will never be as dedicated to something or love something as much as you do. They envy your drive and your determination to succeed, and your strength to continue doing what you love despite the hardships you sometimes face.
I want you to keep going.
When you think about quitting, remember why you held on for so long in the first place. It’s because you love what you do more than anything else in the world. It may not seem like it right now, but there will come a time later on in your life where you will realize that choosing to stay with it will be the best decision you have ever made. Because without having that in your life, you won’t know where or who you would be. There will come a point when you will realize that if you had quit, you would miss it dearly, and you would have given up on the one thing that made you the happiest. I want you to know that it is okay to feel frustrated sometimes, and we all deal with bullies. But find in your heart why you love what you do so much, and use that as your drive to keep going because--
I promise you it’s worth it.
Sincerely,
Someone who has been there, never quit, and would have regretted it every day if she did
