Like every young athlete, high school sports were a big deal to you. The idea of taking the center stage in front of a large crowd of local fans while hearing your name echo throughout the gymnasium as you lead the team to another victory is your biggest fantasy. You work hard your whole life so that you can make that dream a reality. In elementary and middle school, this dream still seemed attainable. You were not the best player on the team, but you certainly were not the worst either, and you most certainly worked harder than anybody else. Your work ethic continued into high school, along with the extra ambition of finally being on the big stage. These next three years were a build up for the grandest stage: senior year, where you would finally showcase yourself and all the hard work would finally pay off. Your name and picture would be all over the local newspaper and tears would fill your eyes as you gave a speech at senior night, and finally, your name and number were announced across the gym for the very last time as you started your very last game.

Despite your hard work, however, you found yourself sitting the bench early on. You worked harder than anyone else, but were not recognized for it. Whether it be because you were too short or just did not have the right last name, your hard work did not pay off. The time you did get, you had to really work for. Playing time was not given to you like it was everyone else. You either stuck it out and warmed the bench for four straight years, or you gave it up midway through to save yourself the embarrassment of sitting the bench as a senior. Either way, you were disappointed.

It is disappointing; there is no other way to put it. It is very disappointing to have dedicated so much time and put in so much work towards a dream that never came true. You could have spent your time doing so many other activities and you cannot help but wonder if you would have succeeded in any of those. Surely they would have gone better, right? Unfortunately, you will never know the answer to that question and while you probably regret playing this and not trying that, that will never change the outcome. What’s done is done, but there is a silver lining.

After high school, what you did and did not accomplish will not matter. It does not have much effect on you in college or in your career, but it did teach you a vital life lessons. It taught you what hard work really was because you were forced to work for your playing time. It taught you that hard work does not always pay off, or at least right away, but one day it will. Hard work has become second-nature to you. You always try to be the hardest worker in the room, and eventually you will land yourself in a career, far superior to the kids who received everything you wanted in high school because of their name. You will be exactly where you want to be one day; it will not be easy and it surely will not be handed to you, but you will get there because you worked hard for it. You will get there because you worked harder than anyone else to get there. You will get there because you did what you have always done, and this time, when it really matters, it paid off.