What Baseball Teaches Me About Life

Happy Friday, RISERS! I hope this week has provided you with an opportunity to relax a bit. With the end of this school year approaching quickly, I know that you have projects due, tests to take, and futures to plot. You can do it…I know you can.

Quote of the week: “Life will always throw you curves; just keep fouling them off. The right pitch will come, and when it does, be prepared to run the bases.” –Rick Maksian

Movie(s) of the week: Of all the spectator sports, I love baseball the best. It’s interesting, I understand it, and I know how many players are on each team and what they do. So, since baseball season begins this month, I want to give you the titles of two of my favorite baseball movies. The Sandlot is a film about a boy who moves into a neighborhood with already-established friends. He watches from the outside, then finally gets brave enough to join the rest of the guys. They have an exciting summer and lots of fun. The other film I recommend is Rookie of the Year. In it, Henry Rowengartner breaks his arm and gains the best arm in baseball. This movie follows his adventures from being the kid no one wanted on the team to playing in the major leagues. 

Joke of the week: Why does a pitcher raise one leg when he throws the ball? If he raised both legs, he’d fall down.

Nugget of Wisdom for the week: I want to give you another quote from a baseball movie, which I use to remind myself of why I keep doing something once it gets hard. The quote is from A League of Their Own, a movie about women’s baseball during and after World War II. “It’s supposed to be hard. If it wasn’t hard, everyone would do it. The hard is what makes it great.” Although the context of the movie was baseball, this truth can also apply to a bazillion other things in life. Don’t give up on something because it becomes difficult. When I have an off day, sometimes I feel like quitting. If you have this same tendency, please think about what would happen if you didn’t do what you do. Who would miss the input you provide to them? You could be making a difference to many people without realizing it. A sign that I use to display magnets on the front of my desk at school says, “When you think about quitting, remember why you started.” You make a difference. Don’t quit.

Have a great week. Remember, you are most awesome and YOU ROCK!

Marion Rhines is a foster-turned-adoptive parent. She lives in Knoxville, Tenn., with her husband and five children. She has written and published two children’s books as well as two foster-care-themed novels. She has a Facebook blog, Tips from the FLIP Side, and enjoys working with children of all ages.

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