When I was in sixth grade I started working with the baseball team at McNeil, cuing up the music for the team. After a few years of working with music I was “promoted” to announcer and Internet broadcaster.
The one thing I didn’t look forward to my senior year was leaving the team. I had been the announcer and broadcaster for the team for seven years. I now dread the day I have to announce my last Maverick baseball game.
If it weren’t for Coach [Andy] Dawson and the McNeil High School baseball team, I wouldn’t be where I am today. Yeah, I am still shy around others sometimes and have little to say. But, if I had not become a part of the baseball program and newspaper staff I would not be nearly as social as I am today.
The opportunity to be included in a group and accepted can make a world of difference in someone’s life. My advice to incoming high school students is to get involved. No matter what it is – whether it’s band, athletics, theater, or choir. Join a club or organization and get involved. The more activities you are involved in the more successful you will be in high school and throughout your life.
It is so easy to get lost in the drama of high school. I have been through that drama but you have to fight through those times. If you fight through the rough patches you may be able to discover just who you really are. We all have tremendous potential in life; we just have to uncover it. Reach for the sky and never let go.
