Prompt: Tell about a specific story that a sponsor influenced your development as a reader or writer?

It was the worst part of practice. Sitting in the black cloth seat that was starting to get a little worn out. Probably from me sitting in our 2010 Honda civic for over 12 hours a week. As I sat patiently waiting to start getting ready for practice my father asked me, “Do you have any homework that you should be doing?” At first, I didn’t know what to say. I sat and started to rub my hands on my legs while never making eye contact.

As I thought about what I could tell him, I started to think of things that I could tell him. Maybe that I didn’t have homework, or that it’s not due until next week, but my father is something that can see right through me. He known when I lie, or at least try to. After I try to run through ideas in my head the more tension grew, and I couldn’t take the silence anymore. With a reluctant tone I said, “Do I really have to do it?” My father gave me the look that every child knows, the know it all face.

School was something that I felt I was obligated to go to, but that doesn’t mean that I liked it. I especially hated the AP Lang class that I was in. All the reading and writing that was associated with the course was not something that I wanted to do. It would take a normal person twenty minutes to read through the book or the story that we were reading, but for me it took twice as long. I couldn’t focus in the car, I couldn’t get my brain to retain what I was reading. It was just like I was reading the words of the page, but it wasn’t going to my brain.

Every Tuesday I had reading, and every Tuesday I had practice, and of course this day was Tuesday.  So, my dad knew that I had reading, of course. These were the words that were the start to a new beginning for me. My father started, “Soccer is something that you have now, and it’s something that you should continue if you want to try and play professional. But something that I will tell you from experience that schooling is the most important thing in your life that you will take for granted now. Soccer can only take you so far in life, school is what is going to make you become who you want to be. I know that soccer is what you want to focus on, but you also need to be doing your school work. You always need to have a second choice of your profession if soccer doesn’t work out for you as a job. You need to be able to be something that you’re compassionate about.”

What he said made sense and made me realize that maybe instead of pushing it off, I should do it. It would be 6 years since my father had talked to me about school with his “dad talk”, it changed everything. Academically I have become a better student, but what I love most about myself now is that I love to read. What I love reading most is autobiographies of professional soccer players. My favorites that I’ve read so far: Abby Wambach, and Hope Solo. These stories showed me the struggles, like myself, have had with schooling and soccer combined. That I need to set aside the soccer ball sometimes and focus on reading, even when I don’t want to.