Standing in a dusty old batting cage, the sun beating down on my burnt pink skin, I weakly swung the bat and completely missed the ball that was softly thrown my direction. It was Summer which meant baseball season, and the only thing I got to do other than play baseball games, was practice. My family is big on baseball. My grandpa coached his team to two Jr. College World Series’ and won them both. My father played for 3 different colleges and was asked to try out for the Los Angeles Angels. Minutes before I was born, my parents and all the nurses were watching Field of Dreams. You could say I was born to play the game, but all throughout elementary school I hated it.

I spent most days of my summer at Kalina Baseball Park either taking batting practice or fielding every position on the diamond. It sounds like I should be really good at baseball given I practiced almost every day, but the amount of effort I put in was extremely low. I wouldn’t hit the ball hard, I wouldn’t throw the ball accurately, and I wouldn’t hustle anywhere. If my dad or grandpa would ask me if I wanted to practice, my answer was always no. They soon figured out that they just wouldn’t ask anymore, they would simply make me go whether I liked it or not. Getting me to go practice was like trying to get a fat dog to go for a walk. This same old routine went on for years, they would make me practice and I would put no effort in, until around freshman year. I was older and smarter than my 12 year old self. Freshman year was when I finally figured out why my grandpa and my dad forced me to practice every day. Once I learned their motive behind the practices, I started to like going to baseball and spending time with them. It improved my performance in the sport and I made the freshman baseball team that year.

The reason why my grandpa and my dad pushed me to go practice isn’t because they wanted me to get better, but because they wanted to spend time with me. They were just trying to share a special part of their life with me. They didn’t care about how bad I did which is why they didn’t mind my lack of effort when we went out to the field. They wanted to make me a part of something that has been in the family forever. Once I got this I wanted to go out and practice and mess around with my grandpa and dad. I stopped seeing it as work and saw it as a bonding experience. This has changed the way I am today because I have learned to think past myself and really figure out why someone is doing something. I was angry that my dad made me go to practice until I found out the reason he was doing it. This helps me be a more sympathetic and less judgemental person in life.
Without the forced practices and the tough love I got from my dad and grandpa, I would not be the thoughtful, sympathetic, and caring person I am today. Now, whenever my dad asks me if I want to go hit or field, my answer is always yes. I figured out the reason behind the practice and it has taught me the useful life lesson of finding out why someone does something before jumping to conclusions.