Earned Never Given

When I was a brand new freshman at Leander High School I walked onto that softball team with absolutely no idea of what to expect. And while I learned more than I ever thought I'd know about softball, teamwork, & working hard- I learned even more about life.

Each day at the very end of our long, sweaty, bloody, intense practice we would huddle up and break it out with the saying, "Earned Never Given".

Back then, I applied it to softball only. I knew I had to run hard, have a positive team attitude, and keep my head in the game while pitching. I knew if someone told me to slide, I better be hitting the ground hard. If someone signaled to bunt, I better not get it wrong. & I knew that at the end of those games, we would be running in front of the guests, our families, our friends, for everyone's errors not only our own. I knew that some practices where strictly training days while others we would run the entire practice and while we would have much rather been hitting with bats than hitting the track, without physical preparations, we could not succeed. We had to work hard to play hard.

Now, I see how the term "Earned Never Given" goes much deeper than sports. I've learned, firsthand, life doesn't simply hand anyone anything. College doesn't handout A's as easily as high school did, the time has come when parents think it's about time for you to grow up and support yourself. It's tough but it's life.

So, I hope you learn what it means to be on your own, without the help of your parents, without depending on anyone but your own hard work. I hope it doesn't scare you to be independent or self-suffienct. I hope you believe in the beauty of your dreams and that you achieve even the wildest ones. Nothing is too far out of reach. It won't be easy, that is a promise, but when you've earned something wonderful and sweet and it is better than you even imagined, you'll be glad it wasn't handed to you and you'll spend the rest of your life working hard to keep it.

Work hard & prosper, my friends.