5 Fouls

So, I'm 6'4", and despite that, I am not good at basketball. What it means is, I can get stuff for you from really high places. But when you're in the public school system and you're tall, people say, "Hey, you're tall," you should try out for basketball." So I did, probably my eighth grade year. My dad, after one of the games I played, and I didn't play a lot of the game, but he says, "How do you think you did?" And I thought about it for a minute, and I wanted to find some sort of a nugget of positivity. I didn't score. I didn't do anything remarkable. I just kind of existed on the court, 'cause like I said, I wasn't good at it. And I said, "Well, Dad, you know, I didn't get any fouls." He says, "You know you're allowed five a game, right?" And I said, uh, "Yes, and I didn't get any." He says, "Well, if you don't get at least one, you're not trying hard enough." Those were his words to me. So, I've kinda filed that in my head for my life, and I thought, "Wow, you're allowed five fouls. You don't get at least one, that means you're not trying hard enough. How can I apply this?" And how I've applied it in life is basically going after your goals. You have to get out there, and sometimes you're gonna make mistakes. And if you don't make mistakes, honestly, you're not trying hard enough.

And I think that's the point my dad was trying to make to me, is if you're not failing once in a while at something, how hard are you really trying? So, I guess the moral of the story is, know that, especially in today's world, where it's, it's tough out there, but just know that those that try and fail at least got out of bed and tried. They put forth an effort. And if anybody messes with you because of that, ask them what they did today.

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