A True Athlete...

I know this is REALLY long...but it is my definition essay for my ENG 102 class. I thought it would be interesting to share with all of you. 


         Athletes can be found all over the world, but what makes up a true athlete? Are they those who put in hours and hours of practice a week or are they the ones who play a sport for fun? Some people believe that a true athlete is more than just a typical athlete. In order for a person to be a true athlete, the definition is rooted deeply within the person. A true athlete cannot be fabricated, it is something that is born innately within the person. A true athlete is an athlete who gives 110%, who has a love, passion, and a desire to play the game, and who is more mentally smart than physically smart.

         According to Merriam-Webster’s dictionary an athlete is defined as, “a person who is trained or skilled in exercises, sports, or games requiring physical strength, agility, and stamina”. Another dictionary definition of an athlete is, “characterized by or involving physical activity or exertion; active; physically strong and well developed; muscular”. Although these definitions are true in describing an athlete, they lack in defining what a true athlete is. Yes, a true athlete encompasses all of these qualities, however the qualities defined above merely describe someone who partakes in an sporting event. For someone to be considered a true athlete there needs to be more qualities than physical qualities. Just like the saying, “there is more to a person than meets the eye”, there is more to an athlete than the physicality of the athlete. Almost anyone can be considered an athlete, however are they true athletes?

         A true athlete needs to be able to give 110% in the sport that they play. So often there have been athletes who become lackadaisical in their movements because they have become fatigued from playing. A true athlete will play all quarters of the game if needed be because they want to show that they are there to play the game and not just to gain fame or money. A main reason why true athletes need to give 110% is to show that they are trying to better themselves. They want to become the best that they can be. An example of giving 110% is by practicing different skills and concepts after a practice, or staying an hour after practice to enhance their skills. Another example of giving 110% is going full out in a game. A true athlete will run the extra mile to tackle a running back who is inches away from the goal line. Even though this athlete is tired and sore from the numerous beatings in the game, they will go the extra length to stop the other team from scoring. 

         In football, one of the main players on defense is the free safety. The free safety is the last line of defense and the last effort to try to prevent the team from scoring. Before the quarterback releases the ball from his hand, the free safety needs to anticipate where he is going to throw the ball. This way, the free safety can either intercept the football or tackle the receiver immediately. This is an example of how a true athlete needs to be more mentally smart than physically smart. A regular athlete will wait on his or her heels before seeing where the ball is being thrown. They might be physically fast enough to reach the player before the goal line, but would it not have been more beneficial if the receiver was tackles 15 yards away from the goal line? An athlete can be the most muscular guy on the team, but that does not necessarily mean that they are the smartest athlete. A great American baseball player, Yogi Berra, once said, “Baseball is 90% mental, the other half is physical.” While Berra said this about baseball, it can be applied to all sports. 

         The most important criteria of being a true athlete is that they need to have a love, passion, and a desire to play the game. This is important because this allows the athlete to be unselfish and to play for the betterment of the team. Many professional athletes today just care about playing for money. Meaning that their professional career becomes all about money versus being the best that they can be and wanting to help the good of the team. When athletes play having a love, passion, and a desire to play, they never become tired of the sport, nor do they give up if their teams sucks or if their become injured. It is amazing to see how many professional athletes waste away their true talent just to receive large amounts of money. A true athlete is not in it for the money, they are in it for the love of the game and because it makes them happy and feel good to get out there and do something that they love to do. 

         A person whom exemplifies a true athlete is Patrick Tillman. Pat Tillman grew up considered too little to play football. He attended Arizona State University and signed into the National Football League with the Arizona Cardinals. The Cardinals believed in Pat’s potential to be a great athlete and to succeed in the sport. They were right. Tillman thoroughly enjoyed playing football because he loved the sports, he was passionate about it, and he desired to play it no matter what anybody thought about him. Tillman has always been a team player and is one of the most unselfish football players of all time. Pat Tillman gave up millions of dollars to stay with the Cardinals versus signing with a different football team. He chose to stick with the Cardinals because they believed in him from the beginning of his career and gave him a chance to show the world how great of an athlete he was. In the end, Tillman made the ultimate sacrifice and gave up what he loved most to go and defend his country in war. 

         True athletes give more than what their body has to give, meaning they give a full 110%. In addition to this, a true athlete should be more mentally smart than physically smart and should want to play the sport because they have a love, passion, and desire for the game. Many people can object to these criteria and say that an athlete is anyone who plays a sport. While this is true, the question in mind is what is a true athlete. True athletes are like diamonds in the rough, they are difficult to find but gleam like the stars when they are found.

Thanks for reading. 

☮ ~ ♥

Skills of life...

“I am only one, but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something. And because I cannot do everything I will not refuse to do the something that I can do.”

– Hellen Keller

I find this quote to be incredibly inspiring. Hellen Keller, deaf and blind, realized that even though she cannot do everything she knew that she could still do something. I think that this is important for all of us to remember. We are all individual human beings, yet we are one person. We are not two faced and have split personalities, we are one. Many of us cannot do all of the things that we would like to do. Maybe something hinders us from doing those things. And many of us are not skilled in certain areas where others are. For the things that we do know how to do, we should not refuse to do them. Say, for example, you are a really good writer, yet you do not want to write an essay. You are refusing to use one of your greater talents simply because you do not want to do it.

Do not take life for granted because you only get out of life what you put into life. Live with no regrets and do not refuse the things that you are skilled at. 

Peace through Love. 

The Picture of Dorian Gray....

"We are punished for our refusals. Every impulse that we strive to strangle broods in the mind, and poisons us. The body sins once, and has done with its sin, for action is a mode of purification... Resist it, and your soul grows sick with longing for the things it has forbidden to itself, with desire for what its monstrous laws have made monstrous and unlawful. It has been said that the great events of the world take place in the brain. It is in the brain, and the brain only, that the great sins of the world take place also." -The Pictures of Dorian Gray

This quote begins the demise of Dorian Gray. Here was this young beautiful man who didn't have a care in the world, and here with this one quote spoken by a supposed friend, his whole world is turned upside down.

Growing up, I really did not like to read, especially the books that were assigned to us by teachers. However, come Junior year of high school the teachers actually began to pick some what interesting books to read! Amazing! Senior year I read The Picture of Dorian Gray. Yes, I read it front to back. One of the few books I actually read in high school to say the least. Anyway, I found that book dark, eerie, and somewhat intriguing and entertaining to read. Oscar Wilde is known for his flamboyant writing, but yet powerful all the same. Yes, the book is "messed up" and odd, but it is a well written book. 

For those of you who have not read this book, or for those of you who have plans to read this book. . . READ IT. You will be amazed at how this book takes a hold of you and will make you want to read (or so in my opinion at least). And once you begin reading it, continue to read, don't just decide to read a few pages and stop. Otherwise you will be lost and confused. 

As I do with all my quotes, I am going to analyze.

"We are punished for our refusals." What does Lord Henry mean by this? Well he could mean that the things we refuse to do could come back to haunt us in the end. Or he could mean that by refusing people we are punishing our inner selves. I for one think it is a combination of the two. If we refuse to do something, for example not taking the trash out or cleaning the room when told, there will result a punishment. . . grounded. Another example would be if we were to refuse to do a paper, once you refuse to do that paper, your punishment is obviously a failing grade. Therefore, we become punished by those things that we refuse. 

"Every impulse that we strive to strangle broods in the mind, and poisons us." By this, I believe that Lord Henry is saying that things that we struggle with in our mind (thoughts, ideas, imagination) never go away. They continually stay within our mind and begin to eat away at our brain. This eating away causes a feeling of poison. This poison being that you cannot get your mind off of it. Now, there are many positive things that can eat away at your brain. For example, wanting to cure a disease or come up with some type of solution to a problem. But then again there are things that come into our imagination that makes us sick to our stomachs that we wish would just go away. 

"The body sins once, and has done with its sin, for action is a mode of purification... Resist it, and your soul grows sick with longing for the things it has forbidden to itself, with desire for what its monstrous laws have made monstrous and unlawful." Once the body has sinned there is no taking it back. Now there is something that those of religious affiliation believe in called forgiveness and absolving from sins that makes at conscious effort to take away the feeling of guilt away from our brain, yet does it really take it away from our mind, body, or those with whom we have sinned? If we resist this purification then the act or the sin will just eat away at the mind as well as the body. The mind will continually want and try to commit the sin again, yet it has already been taken away from the body. 

"It has been said that the great events of the world take place in the brain. It is in the brain, and the brain only, that the great sins of the world take place also." There is definitely some truth to this statement. Have you ever thought about a situation and began to freak out about possibilities of this situation? Once you plant a bad seed in your mind it begins to effect how you feel, how you act, and even begins to make you feel anxious. People can make things up in their mind, to the point where the most heinous things are believable. They can stretch the truth, they can make you feel like the worst person in the world, the brain is a very powerful tool. 

I recommend that you go and read this book. I wouldn't go as far to say that it is one of my favorites, but it is definitely good for sure. And there is much much more to this book than the quote that I explained. This quote is only the beginning of the mysteries of the book. So, that is all blogging world. I bid you adieu until next time. 

Peace through Love. 

Drugs...

"The basic thing nobody asks is why do people take drugs of any sort? Why do we have these accessories to normal living to live? I mean, is there something wrong with society that's making us so pressurized, that we cannot live without guarding ourselves against it?" -John Lennon

I feel that people take drugs to feel better. First off there are many different levels and categories of drugs. So what drugs is John Lennon talking about here? There are prescription drugs and illegal drugs. Within illegal drugs there are: depressants, stimulants, opiates, and hallucinogens. And obviously these can be broken down as well.


When it comes to prescription drugs, people take these to feel better. Meaning, to get over a sickness or to boost their immune system to fight off a disease. In a sense these drugs are okay and that is their reasoning to take them. However, people can come to a point where they can become addicted or dependent on the prescribed drug. For example, even though the person feels better and everything has gone back to normal, they feel as if they still need to continue to take the drug. This is commonly found with those who have colds. For example, some people take Nyquil to help them sleep at night during cold season. Maybe they stop using Nyquil for a while, but begin to find that they cannot sleep or having trouble sleeping. So they soon feel as if Nyquil is the only way for them to sleep through the night. 


Then we have the illegal drugs, which are simply...illegal. In most cases, people use these drugs to help them cope with their life. People tend to turn to drugs when things are going downhill or they feel as if their life is in shambles. For example, when someone catches a bad break and loses their job and is suddenly going out of money. They may turn to marijuana or cocaine as a comfort to help them heal through the pain. 


In another instance the use of illegal drugs is commonly used amongst young teens and college students. For some reason they feel as if by using these drugs the stress of school and becoming an adult can be lifted off of their shoulders. Does it really? I feel that it should add pressure and scare teens because of the lurking feeling that they are going to get caught by someone. If it were me, I would be completely paranoid all the time. 


Let's go back to John Lennon. What are the drugs that John is referring to? I feel that John is referring to the use of illegal drugs. The key word that leads me to think this is the word pressurized. He is saying that people use drugs as an escape from society. He says that people are becoming so pressured by society (maybe jobs, family, relationships, school, etc.) that the only escape they can find is by using these drugs. He questions why they cannot face society. 


We do not ask people why they take drugs because there are a multitude of reasons why a person can take drugs, whether it to be to look cool or as an escape from pressure. I don't know why people claim these drugs as accessories to life. I don't know why people carry drugs in their "back pocket" so to speak. It amazes me how many drug addicts there are out in the world and how many drug addicts you walk by on a daily basis. 


However, it is an evil evil world out there. Some people just don't know how to face it while others grow and learn how to tackle it head on. 

Getting to know...

"The truth is I've never fooled anyone. I've let people fool themselves. They didn't bother to find out who and what I was. Instead they would invent a character for me. I wouldn't argue with them. They were obviously loving somebody I wasn't. When they found this out, they would blame me for disillusioning them---and fooling them."

- Marilyn Monroe

I have never wanted to be anything more than myself. There are others out there however that want to be someone else. They feel as if they have to transform to some alter person to have people like them or want to like them. Then there are people who put up facades so you never truly understand or fully know who they are. How are we supposed to meet new people and enjoy the company of other people if they do not let you in to who they are or help you understand why they are the way they are? 

This quote by Marilyn Monroe speaks a lot to me. I am going to try my best to analyze it sentence by sentence. 

"The truth is I never fooled anyone". Not knowing the full story about Marilyn's life or how people felt about her, I am going to assume that Marilyn was trying to be herself during her life and throughout her professional career. I think that it is important to keep in mind that we should live our lives being true to who we are and that we are not trying to trick people into thinking that we are something that we are not. If someone likes drinking and partying excessively should we act that we too enjoy doing that and fooling them to believe that our minds are okay with participating in that? Is that not straying away from who we are? By not fooling people we allow ourselves to stay close to home, but at the same time there is room to become "adventurous" in helping add to who we are.

"I've let people fool themselves". Now, I am not sure as to what to make of this sentence. In the context of Marilyn, I feel as if this sentence if referring to all of those men who in their minds have made Marilyn idols and their ideal woman. She has fooled them into thinking that there are other women out there like her. However, I feel as if people should not fool themselves when coming to know another person. It is important to come to know each other before developing a friendship. It takes a while to truly know who someone is. I think it is important that when making friends, let them in to know who you are, but don't let them fool themselves into thinking that you are someone that you're not. 

"They didn't bother to find out who and what I was".  I could not agree with this more. People do not take the time to really figure out a person and who they are. Yes this is somewhat hypocritical of me, because I find myself judging people before I have the chance to really get to know them or have the opportunity to meet them a second time. A majority of this world does not take the time to figure out who we are. And with not finding out who people are comes stereotypes, and with stereotypes comes profiling, and with profiling comes discrimination and hate. All of these has the potential to escalate into something violent. The people of the world has scene this, there are examples of this throughout history. We should bother ourselves to want to find out who people are. How are we supposed to make new fresh connections with people and make different friends. I feel that when we were younger it is so much easier to make friends because we have less to hind. We are just little innocent human beings setting out in a new world. However, things get tougher as we grow up. People have hidden personalities, different stories, different things that make them who they are, and even secrets that they do not wish to proclaim. 

"Instead they would invent a character for me".  Marilyn grew up playing the different roles she was casted to be. She was never really her own person and had to dive into the personality of her role. Isn't that what actors/actresses are supposed to do? Of course. However, perhaps Marilyn felt as if she wanted to prove something to the Hollywood world that she could be her own person and not act like her characters. Maybe Marilyn herself got confused on who she really was and got lost in the multiple personalities of the characters she played. Many people who are picked on and bullied are often given names and depicted as evil characters that other children make fun of. It isn't fair. 

"I wouldn't argue with them. They were obviously loving somebody I wasn't." While Marilyn would willing submit to these parts, was she always happy playing them? Movie goers loved the roles that Marilyn played and they loved her acting. I mean who wouldn't? However, it seems that by Marilyn saying this she wasn't always happy in playing the roles that she was casted to play. If it were me, and somebody fell in love with me for someone that I wasn't, would I want them to love me? I would want this person to love me for me not because of the things that I do or the clothes that I wear or the perfume that I put on. There is a person inside of the skin that is shown. For those people who have labeled people, how do they think they feel? I understand, that I really have no where to talk because I too have labeled people, unfortunately, and maybe writing all this is to my own personal healing and eye opening. Do these people welcome the labels, or do they immediately want to tear them off? Those that want to tear them off care what other people think of them, where as those who don't care about the labels, they know that the people who place them on them do not really know them at all. 

"When they found this out, they would blame me for disillusioning them---and fooling them". Her Marilyn explains the idea of fooling people. When they found out that she didn't love the characters that she was being asked to play, they didn't believe that she could actually feel that way. I don't really know how this last part fits into all that I have been saying... but this last part however is important to the quote because it is what Marilyn is feeling and gives the readers some light into what her quote really means.

Ladies and gentlemen your interpretation is left up to you. This is how I feel and what thoughts and ideas came to mind as I read this quote. I know I have jumped around a lot and I apologize for it. I just needed to take some time to do a little bit of free writing and let the creative words flow from my finger tips.