January 7, 2022
Self Introduction
Whenever I meet new people, I am quite aware of possible judgments that they might have. Everyone makes assumptions about people, whether they choose to share them or keep them quiet. But I have always had an over awareness about what people might think of me when in reality, how are they supposed to know me without actually knowing me? How are they supposed to know that my family is my world and that one of the things I am most interested in is sports? I probably don’t look like a person who gets invested in every Red Sox game. That is why I ask you to put judgements aside while I tell you who I really am and what I care about.
Sports have been the center of my family since before I can even remember. The infamous 2004 World Series is mentioned more than a couple times in my house, especially considering that we have both tapes of it as well as documentaries talking about it. Along with that comes other Red Sox World Series wins, and although they are talked about slightly less, my dad can not resist going on a 30 minute tangent whenever they are brought up. In fact, it is more whenever anything sports related gets brought up that both my brother and dad will dive into players and statistics while I try to catch up. Every meal eaten together, I watch the two of them talk about this week’s games, who they think are going to win, how all the players are doing, and on and on. Baseball is my space of small expertise within these conversations, especially considering that we are all in a highly competitive family fantasy baseball league together (which not to brag but I came in 3rd this past year). Some of the passion for sports in my life comes from my upbringing, but another part of it comes from my own participation in sports.
Growing up, I have tried out many different sports, hating some, loving others, but all leading to my overall love of watching them now. Soccer was the first I can remember playing and the one I hated the most. I was 5 and afraid of the ball after getting hit in the face one too many times and having way too many bloody noses. There was this soccer camp I went to for a week and somehow, I am still not sure how this happened, but I got hit in the face with a soccer ball every single day. To this day, I will refuse to play soccer with anyone who suggests the idea. Around the time of soccer, I also started playing softball. I played for nine years bouncing from outfield, pitcher, second base, and ultimately ending at my perfect position of first base. In addition to my need for competition, softball eventually brought me bonding time with my best friend. Once we were on a team together, it became more about having fun together and less about actually playing the game. However my time playing softball came to an end after years of unencouraging coaches and I was left with basketball. Out of all the sports I have played, basketball is the one that I miss the most. My experience playing was always comfortable, as if my second home was on the court at times. Unfortunately I ran out of time for sports as I got further into high school and had to abandon basketball as well. I still go to my best friend’s games to watch, support, and reminisce about my own basketball days and how much I wish they were not over.
I talked a little bit about the role that family plays in my life but an extremely influential person that I did not mention was my mom. She is my best friend and if you were to ask me who I would want to be with if I could spend time with any person in the world, it would be her. It was not always this case as I was a terror of a child and we fought often up until a couple years ago. As much as I wish we hadn’t fought so much, each fight brought us closer together. She reminded me recently of this when I was concerned something would distant us from each other or strain our relationship. She told me “After every fight, we always become more obnoxious to the world together.” Obnoxious. That’s the word my best friend uses to describe our relationship. I talk about my mom probably more than any other person so it becomes incorporated into daily conversations with people. “Last night my mom and I were watching this show together when...”, “I told my mom about this and she said...” to which my best friend always responds “You two are obnoxious together.” I am so grateful that I can be obnoxious with her considering the role she plays in my life. She is the person I look up to most and admire for her balance of toughness and love. She has given me my drive to do good for the world as well as my willingness to never stand down.
In the first version of this speech, I said that a year ago I would have been giving a completely different speech. It’s funny that in only four months, I feel the same way. Although the content is the same, I feel like a different person than I was the first time I wrote this and as a result, I have a different perspective with writing the same details, stories, and about the same people. I would say that I hope this corrects some previous judgments you may have had about me, but speaking for the current version of myself, there is much more to me than the assumptions I am often defined to.