I Believe in Determination by Jordan Dahle

Two and a half hours a day, five days a week, five months a year. Not to mention weekly games of four eight minute quarters. Day after day this time is spent partaking in repetitive drills, intense scrimmages, and excruciating conditioning. To most this would sound like a ridiculous way to spend their time, but for four years of my life, this is what I lived for. At 3:24 p.m. the final bell would ring signaling the beginning of another day at basketball practice. A mere ten minutes were spent preparing for the hours spent with fourteen girls, three coaches and one orange basketball. Some may call us talented and slightly crazy, but only one word could describe my teammates and myself: determined.

The winter of my sixth grade year was the instigation of a seven year obsession. Barely stretching five feet, I was one of the tallest players on my basketball team. Being challenged vertically, no one ever expected us to go far in the YMCA league. Several nights a week, we would gather in the miniscule elementary gym to prepare for our ritual weekend games. Every Sunday, my teammates and I would make the trip into Lincoln to enter the lengthy gyms to find abnormally large girls waiting to be our opposition. The development of our determination, which lasted through our senior year of high school, was caused by their snickers , thinking we were incapable of playing. We were continually the underdog because of things that were out of our control. But with determination in our minds, we blew away our opponents with our speed and skill, finishing the season with very few losses. Over the next few years we went through the same ridicule, but always ended up with the same outcome, victory. At the end of our eighth grade year, we received a small trophy stating 2007-2008 Girls State Basketball Champions, which became our incentive to aspire as players and a team in the years to come.

Ever since I received that small golden trophy filled with hope, I became determined to make it come true. I developed a dedication to my athletic career and gave nothing less than a hundred percent. After years of hard work, my determination paid off as I stood and watched the final seconds fade away from the scoreboard. We had done it, we were the class C-1 District Champions which guaranteed our entrance into the state tournament. Unfortunately, on this joyous day, there was a major setback. In the third quarter of that same game, I tore my anterior cruciate ligament. All my hopes and dreams of playing in the state tournament disappeared right before my eyes, removing me from my world of athletics. Knowing the track season was not an option, I was forced to focus on the other aspects of my life. Now, I am placing all my determination on my recovery from this injury, with the hopes that it will lead to a positive outcome such as my career in basketball did.

With my graduation quickly approaching, I am required to look back at my life and the things I have accomplished during it. I look at my athletic and academic careers and wonder, What could have possibly driven me to be involved in so many things? Determination. The desire to be successful in all aspects of my life has been the basis for my determination. Without it, I would have never been on academic honor roll nor would I have been selected for all conference, district and state teams. So what exactly is this determination that has consumed me for so many years? Determination is staying late after practice to serve ten more balls over and in, running extra laps around the track to prepare for the challenging mile, staying up thirty minutes later to study for the test one last time, and shooting twenty more free throws to make sure they are just right. Determination is that fire deep within you that burns for you to better yourself as a person. Without it, the ability to achieve any goals would be almost impossible. Determination coincides with hard work, passion, desire, and perseverance. Anyone possessing such qualities will go far in life; I am determined to be that person.