The metaphors of baseball permeate my everyday life. My friends talk about “striking out” with a girl. My parents have told me to “step up to the plate” when asking me to do more chores around the house. How many times have I heard someone say that a person or idea was “off base”? Why are all these baseball expressions a part of our everyday vocabulary? The reason is that they not only apply to the game but also to life. The truth is life is a metaphor for baseball. As I embark upon my senior year of high school, I realize that this coming spring could be the last time I play this sport that I love and that has given me so much. This game of failure has succeeded in teaching me some of my most important lessons and has shaped my philosophy of life.

   If you play baseball you are guaranteed to fail. When you get a hit only thirty percent of the time, you are considered a great player. How you handle the other seventy percent can show a lot more about who you are as a person. In baseball and in life, my improvements are a direct result of my failures. Despite having a successful junior year at the plate, I was the player who ended our promising post season with a strikeout. I’ve bombed a critical AP Biology test. I know how disappointment feels and I’ve learned to take that feeling, put it into perspective, and turn it into motivation. Waiting for the next at bat after a strike out can seem like hours, rather than innings. This is no different than waiting for another chance after a missed opportunity in school. Remaining poised and positive when things don’t go well is vital. I’ve faced my share of curveballs in the classroom when a test or assignment didn’t generate the outcome I expected. Baseball has taught me that because failure is inevitable, there’s no place for self-pity. The true measure of progress is using setbacks to pave the way for comebacks.

   In this sport you are evaluated by every statistic imaginable. It is a game of numbers. Every stat tells us something but some tell us very little. This is mirrored in life. Right now, your university is evaluating me with a set of numbers. My GPA, ACT, SAT, and AP scores are all being used to define me. However, there is much more that can be said about me than my numbers. On and off the field, the qualities that can’t be defined by numbers are often the most important. There is no statistic for dedication, leadership, perseverance, and pride. These are characteristics that I have honed playing baseball and have learned to apply to my life away from the game.

   One of my high school coaches has always preached one meaningful phrase to me, “Turn the page.” I often think of that phrase to help me to move forward and not dwell on the past. I’ve learned that confidence is everything in sports and in life but there is a fine line between being self assured and arrogant. Most of all, I’ve learned that the game, like life, can be long and tedious at times but if you stay focused and are prepared when the right opportunity presents itself, there is no greater sound than the crack of the bat hitting the sweet spot. Regardless if this spring is my final baseball season or not, I am ready for the future because I know it’s a “whole new ball game.”