Trusting the Process by Brayden

Trusting the Process by Brayden - April 2024 Scholarship Essay

There is a quote by Derek Jeter that says, "There may be people who have more talent than you, but there’s no excuse for anyone to work harder than you do.” I believe, this is the foundation of how I try to live my life and approach all of my goals. My greatest strength on the baseball field, in the classroom, and in any of my pursuits has always been my grit, and it’s this grit that I believe will allow me to achieve my goals.

I am motivated by wanting to always be better than I was the day before – in all areas of my life. For some of my friends and teammates, they are motivated by competing with others, but my competitive drive is to become the best version of myself. This keeps me striving to hit my academic goals, my athletic goals, and my future goals.

Staying focused for me has always been about consistency. I have played a sport since I was 3 years old that is based in failure. In baseball, generational players fail seven times out of ten. Due to this, baseball can be filled with extreme highs and lows. Over time, I’ve realized that riding this roller coaster of highs and lows does not take you anywhere. You spend a lot of time and energy, but get off the ride at the same place you got on. Instead, I choose to look at it as if I’m climbing a mountain. Each day you are moving forward - some days you slip and may fall a little backward, some days you may forward but not quite as much as you would like, and some days you progress a lot - but if you keep your focus, stay consistent, work hard, and you keep your eye on the goal, slowly and steadily you will be better each day than the next, no matter the obstacles you will inevitably face. A couple of summers ago, I broke my ankle playing baseball. When I came back from injury, I spent a lot of time working out at the gym to get stronger, hitting off the tee to work on my swing, and taking ground balls. When I was fully recovered, this continued to be my routine – daily work outs at the gym, hitting off the tee, and taking ground balls. If I had a game where I struck out three times, what did I do the next day? I went to the gym, I hit off of the tee, and I took ground balls. If I went 3 for 3 in the very next game, what did I do the next day? I went to the gym, hit off of the tee, and took ground balls.

Sometimes it’s difficult to keep trusting a process when it seems like the results aren’t coming at our desired speed. It feels like insanity. But, if you want something bad enough, consistent hard work on the verge of insanity is necessary. And if I ever begin to have doubts, I think of that quote by Derek Jeter, remember what I can control, and I keep on climbing.