When I was 12 years old, I got my first dose of how the real world worked.  Every year in South San Francisco Bronco baseball the twelve year olds tryout for a spot on a team that will travel to Cooperstown, New York to play baseball.  September 24, 2012  was the first day of Cooperstown baseball tryouts and I was just getting over a broken ankle. 

On the second day of school, August 24, 2012, I was playing football at recess and landed wrong and my ankle twisted.  It immediately swelled up and I went to the office.  They gave me some ice and sent me back to class.  By the end of the day, I could not walk on it.  My grandfather picked me up from school that day and he looked at my ankle and said:

“Andrew you better go to the doctor.  Your ankle might be broken.  I will call your mom.”
My  mom came home from work early and we went get an x-ray.  The next day we went to see Dr. Park (the same doctor who I saw in second grade for my broken arm).  Dr. Park welcomed me back and told me that I fractured the growth plate in my ankle.  I was crushed.   Knowing that baseball season was just starting and Cooperstown tryouts were in a month, I asked:

“How long will I not be able to play baseball?” 
He said: “3-4 weeks if you follow my orders.” 
I followed his orders and got the cast removed two days before tryouts.  I was nervous because I knew I was not going to be 100%.  My nerves did not stop me from giving 110%.  When I got to the field, I put my cleats on and started to run, my ankle hurt.  Even though the coaches knew about my ankle, I did not want to tell anyone that it hurt.  I warmed up by playing catch with my friend Eric.  I was feeling good, we did not drop a ball, so I gained some confidence.  The first drill was fly balls.  10 balls were hit to me, I caught 10.  I am not even a outfielder, so that felt good.  The second drill, was ground balls.  20 ground balls were hit to me, I fielded 19 of them cleanly.  Next, we took some batting practice, and I was driving the ball into the outfield.  I remember not hitting any of those balls softly.  Finally, it was time to run and test my ankle.  This part of the tryout is what I dreaded the most.  First, we ran from home to first and they timed us.  I ran through the pain and Mr. Callero yelled
“6 seconds for Andrew who has a broken foot.” 
When I got back in line everyone was asking me
“How can you run with a broken ankle?”  I told them
“I want to make the team.” 
The last drill was running around the bases.  I got on the line and I started running, I could really start feeling the pain rounding second, but I finished strong.  They called out my name and time and I was not the slowest, even with a broken ankle.

After a few days of anticipation, I received the letter to let me know whether I made the team or not.  I will never forget this day.  It was a Wednesday evening and I just got back from doing math homework with my aunt.  I walked in the front door and saw my mom who had tears in her eyes.  She handed me my letter, I read it and it told me I did not make the team.  I did not know how to react, should I cry or punch the wall.  My mom came over and hugged me and said it was alright.  I went and sat on my couch and my dad said
“Screw them, they don’t know how good of a ball player you are.  You work hard and show them you should have been picked” 
He told me to hang the letter on my bedroom wall and use it as motivation.  I did just that and every day I would look at it and use it as motivation to be my best.

Three weeks later,  I was sitting on the couch and got a call from the head of the baseball league.  He told me that there was a spot on the team for me if I wanted it. I told him I had to think about it and I would get back to him.  He was shocked that I did not say “yes” right away.  Part of me really wanted to blurt out yes, but the other part felt like they did not want me the first time, so why now.  I talked to my parents who said it was my decision and I decided to go for it.  From that point on, I worked my butt off to improve my game, so everyone knew I belonged on the  team. 

When my family and I finally got to Cooperstown, I had butterflies in my stomach for many reasons. It was more beautiful than Yosemite. First, it was a week long baseball tournament playing the best teams in the country so there was a lot of pressure to do good.  Second, I was not staying with my family.  The players had to live in the barracks and I would only see my family before or after games.  Third, I am a really picky eater so I was nervous about whether or not there would be food for me to eat.  Finally, I had to be responsible for keeping myself organized. My mom was not there to help me make sure I had everything I needed for my games. I was as lost as a puppy is without his mom.  I was homesick and when I saw my mom we both started to get tears in our eyes.  I begged her to let me go home with her, but she said no.  Once the tournament started my butterflies went away.  I knew that I could survive without my family and people saw why I belonged on the team.  I had one of the best tournaments of my life. I batted .750 with 8 RBIs and 13 hits.  I had no errors at first base either.  In one game, I got a two out walkoff double to win the game for my team . Up to making my high school baseball team baseball team that game was the best day of my life.

This was a huge learning experience for me. It would have been very easy to get down on myself and give up baseball after not making the team.  I chose to use this experience as motivation to be a better baseball player and to become a little more. independent.  This changed how I approach my life because it showed I can overcome obstacles and succeed at first.  It really showed I will not give up on myself even when others do.