I Can

You can't.

Those two words are the ones I've heard most often in my life. Someone was always telling me I couldn't. And for a while, I let myself believe them.

 I used to dream of becoming an astronaut when I got older. Someone told me I couldn't.  

I wanted to be the smartest student in my third grade class. Someone told me I couldn't.

I wanted to be the best softball player that ever lived. I think you know what they said.

Sometimes there were legitimate reasons as to why I couldn't do certain things. My fear of heights made my dreams of becoming an astronaut unachievable. There are always people smarter than me. I had asthma and was always sick growing up. I let myself listen to others and take away the best parts of my life. I listened to what everyone said I couldn't do until I was in fourth grade.

I had a wonderful teacher named Mrs. Adams, and she taught me that I could. I told her about my goal in third grade, and I asked her if she thought I could do it in fourth. She said "why not?" and encouraged me to do it. That year, I had a 4.0 on all of my report cards, beat the school record for A.R. points by three hundred, and scored the highest on the state tests. I showed everyone who told me I couldn't that I could, but I didn't stop there. 

The next year I made the city's softball Allstar team. We won second place at our state tournament, and were all over the city's newspapers. After that team, I just kept getting better and better. The coaches who told me that I'd never be as good as my teammates, and the doctors who told me I couldn't handle playing sports were all proved wrong. I spent all of my extra time practicing and getting better, and now I am the only utility player ( a softball player that can play any position on the field) on a travel team that has won several tournaments, and gets invited to college recruitment tournaments. 

Every day I get told I can't do things. I hate that. So, I do everything I can to prove them wrong. Most times I do.

I want you to know that even though people will tell you that you can't do something, YOU CAN. Don't you ever let someone ruin the potential you have. Go out and prove them wrong. Good luck!