Last year, before school started, my friend convinced me to join the tennis team. Even though I had never picked up a racket in my entire life, never hit a tennis ball, and didn’t even know that it was a legit sport, I decided to give it a try. I absolutely fell in love with the sport; it has taught me so much about myself. My first year, I played exhibition, I wasn’t in the lineup, but that’s where I aspired to be. I promised myself I would come back next season a whole new person and the second time around I would be in the lineup. This promise required me to become dependent of myself. I could not rely on anyone but myself to accomplish my own goal. If I wanted to be in the lineup it would require a whole lot of hard work and determination. I kept that promise and over the winter I practiced nonstop. I practiced every day after school with my friend. We tried to hit as often as we could when it started snowing. I even remember playing in the rain on occasion, but eventually the weather would outplay us. Soon I signed up for tennis lessons at the local Tennis RI on Centerville rd. It wasn’t easy because lessons cost $40 per hour. To make up for the money I started working at my Dad’s restaurant. I worked the cashier, answered the phone, and packed takeout orders. I earned just enough to pay for my tennis lessons and I felt proud to be able to support myself in achieving my own goal. Lessons were only once a week, so that left 6 more days open for practice on my own. On
