My Past

My Dad and I went to Cuba three years ago for baseball. This was a very humbling experience for me to travel to another country, and to see how people live their lives there. My imagination of Cuba was a tropical paradise, but that was not the case when we arrived. When we landed in Cuba, my phone had no service, so I was forced to communicate by talking and interacting with others. All of the cars were so old and so was every building. Everyone spoke Spanish. Everything seemed so run down and poor. I was chosen to go to Cuba for baseball to play against the Cuban national baseball team, and it just did not feel right. The hotel was terrible and so was the food. I just wanted to go back home. Finally, after a terrible night of no sleep, we reached the baseball fields. Before we knew it, we started playing a game. It came to my mind that the Cuban team kept using the same baseball bat to hit, and the same helmets. I finally understood that they only had so few pieces of equipment. That was the moment my entire life changed. These kids did not have anything, but they were so driven and determined to use what they had to get better. After the game, I stopped the Cuban team and gave them every piece of equipment I had. My USA team saw the actions I had done, and started to follow my lead. We all started to chip in bats, gloves, and baseballs. The team was in tears, and lastly I gave them by team USA jersey off my back so they would not forget me. From that moment on, I made a decision to work for what I have, and to never give up on anything no matter what obstacles are thrown my way.