Determination is never giving up. It is the mindset to persevere, or striving to do your best even when it gets tough. Determination is focusing on your goal and never letting it get out of your reach. The Merriam Webster online dictionary defines determination as a quality that makes you continue to do or achieve something that is difficult. For me, determination is continuing to play volleyball even when accidents cause me to fall behind, or keeping my 4.00 GPA while taking four college classes.

I fell in love with volleyball as a fourth grader. I played alongside a sixth grader named Courtney at the time and she would never let me pass the ball, even when it was coming straight for me. I was just happy to be playing volleyball. I didn’t care that I wasn’t the best, but there comes a time when being good does matter. When I was in seventh grade, my role became the setter. I was told that I was the quarterback on the floor and my job was important. When someone tells me I am important I take it that they have confidence in my abilities and I can’t help but smile. As a young volleyball player, I had encouraging coaches and was able to gain confidence in my volleyball skills.

The following year my family moved to a town in Northern Minnesota. As the new player on the team I worked as hard as I could to prove my abilities. I ended up playing on both the A and B teams as a setter and was voted as one of the captains. When I became the new setter, the previous one was extremely upset so she and her friends disliked me. That didn’t stop me from feeling accepted and making lots of other great friends.

On August 17th, 2013, a couple weeks into my freshman year of volleyball, I broke my leg. I relate this incident with the end of me being “good” at volleyball. It was a test of my dedication and determination as I sat on the sidelines all season and watched as my peers played the sport I love. It was difficult and frustrating because all I wanted to do was go out on the court, but it was only temporary. When winter came along I was able to play JO volleyball. My coach was Paula  and she didn’t like me very much. Paula directly told me I was bad, and that completely destroyed my confidence. From that moment on, I questioned myself constantly. My parents, friends, and teammates tried to reassure me that I was a good volleyball player. I wanted to believe them; I wanted to believe in myself. I was still determined and did my best to prove Paula wrong, but I wasn’t hopeful and confident anymore. This was my chance to just give up and my life would’ve been a lot easier. I was exhausted from dealing with my leg and now my coach didn’t believe in me. I felt mentally and emotionally drained. But because I didn’t give up, I learned many life lessons, and became stronger. I told myself to just make it through the JO season, then I would have a coach that would believe in me again.

My sophomore year, Molly  was no longer the head coach. It was now Stephanie. The aunt to two of my teammates, Kennedy and Kamree. She had coached their JO team and, unfortunately, Kennedy was a setter too and therefore took my position.

I was heartbroken.

My role was to sit on the bench with a smile on my face and encourage my teammates. I was never really given a chance, but I still gave it my all. Vince Lombardi, the legendary coach of the Green Bay Packers, said, “The price of success is hard work, dedication to the job at hand, and the determination that whether we win or lose, we have applied the best of ourselves to the task at hand.” I almost didn’t join volleyball this year, but I’m sure glad I did. All my determination was worth it in the end. I was able to serve my senior year and our team was the most successful volleyball team that our school has had in a long time. The role I played was small, but it was definitely an improvement.

I am not the best athlete, but I like to remind myself that I will always have academics. My parents raised me to be dedicated, focused, and disciplined. They have taught me the importance of an education and I have learned to not just go through the motions, but to do my best and be my best. I am determined to not let them down. I have never had less than a 4.00 GPA; my goal is not to change that. My class is quite intelligent and determined, therefore, there are four girls in the run for valedictorian. I am stubborn. I will not be the first or only one to drop out of the race. Some people are just smart; succeeding in academics just comes naturally to them, but others have to work at it. Academics take a lot of time and concentration. I have to make sacrifices such as staying home on Saturday night to do a calculus assignment instead of hanging out with friends. My parents remind me, and I remind myself, that it will all be worth it in the end.

Determination can be applied to whatever you do, whether it be athletics or academics. Beverly Sills said, ”There are no shortcuts to any place worth going.” People that have shown great success in today’s world did not get there by sitting around waiting for something; they worked hard to get there. It reminds me of what we learned in Economics not too long ago. When taking a greater risk there are larger returns and taking a smaller risk means smaller returns. Success is a place that I find worth going to. There are great risks with the time and money I will have to put into my education and there are no shortcuts to get there. Determination takes work and effort. It is being the best and that’s what I plan to be.