What if Matthew Jin was a football quarterback?

These past few weeks, I've been intently watching American football. Because the professional basketball season (NBA) doesn't start until late October, I only have football to fulfill my daily dosage of sports. I've always enjoyed watching football and studying the game. Overall, I'm a football aficionado.

The motion of an exquisite spiraling ball coming out of the quarterback's hands is why I love football. Throwing a regulation size football regularly is already hard, but giving the ball a spiraling motion is nearly impossible for my small hands. At home, I pretend to be Tom Brady with an imaginary football; in front of the TV, I fake the hand off to my invisible running back and scamper deep into the pocket. As Tom Brady throws the football to one of his receivers, I also throw my "football" to one of my "receivers". My dad usually yells at me to stop blocking the screen, but I ignore him because I just threw an amazing spiral football for a 50 yard touchdown. Before I go into my deep slumber at night, I have a tendency to picture myself as a pro-football quarterback. What if I was the quarterback of the Green Bay Packers? I get so stirred up sometimes that I rise up from my reclined position on the bed and start running around throwing footballs.

In reality, no matter how persistent I was, I would never be the quarterback on any talented team. Recently, I've realized that I have many passions in life that don't pertain to academics. The harsh truth that I'll never chase those passions makes me miserable. My uncle's career decision is a prime example of sacrificing a dream. A successful military worker today, my uncle initially wanted to pursue a career in basketball. However, because of his short stature and unstable financial situation, he persuaded himself to find a more stable source of income, which turned out to be an intelligent decision in the end. I love all aspects of football, and being a professional quarterback would be amazing. However, my strengths aren't suited for football and sports in general. Simply put, I'm better at other things.

Looking at my uncle's story and my own, I've come to understand a grim principle in today's world. Because of economic status and different talents, people are forced to give up on their true passions. At the end of the road taken, some find themselves doing things that they are good at rather than the things they truly love to do.

I'm Super Athletic

Most of you probably clicked on this title because you don't think I'm athletic, and you want to argue against the title in the comments. Well, you win because I'm not athletic. Below are two instances where I felt discouraged by my athleticism. 

Touching the rim of a regulation basketball hoop is my dream. As a below-average basketball player with basically no athleticism, I can only reach the net of the hoop. During physical education, other students will notice me jumping below the rim trying to grasp it. Every day I fail, and honestly, there's no point in trying because I'm not even close. Those observing me probably think I am insane and hopeless, but I will not let the judgment of others bother me. 

What makes me furious is when some tall student with long arms comes out of nowhere and jumps along with me easily touching the rim. It's almost as if he wants to show how pathetic I looked reaching for something that I wasn't ever going to reach in my life. With a forced smile on my face, I walk away from the basket and become miserable where nobody can see me. 

Pull-up testing always makes my heart beat a little faster and my hands sweatier. My record is 2 pull-ups, and I'm so proud of it honestly. I think it was the start of Junior year when I accomplished this amazing feat, and I still bring it up among my friends. My pull-ups show a manlier side of Matthew, which is the reason I even try. However, at the start of this semester, something devastating and heartbreaking happened to me. My arms gave up on me in the middle of a pull-up, and I ended up doing 0 pull-ups. I feel so embarrassed writing about this that I have to take a break. 

(Break) 

I learned a lot after those 0 pull-ups. The most important thing I learned was to be humble; I didn’t look down on anyone after that event. Some of my friends even mocked me, but I couldn't say anything because I actually did 0 pull-ups. I was pretty mad at them and referred to them as snakes in the grass afterwards. I went into a period of deep self-reflection and remembered that all I did over the summer was eat Jalapeno Ranch potato chips and watch YouTube. Considering I did that, I didn't feel as bad afterwards. 

During my years at Uni, I realized that I'm not a physically gifted person. I used to be ashamed of myself for my physical shortcomings. Now, I’m going to ignore all the condescension and work out at my own pace. Soon enough, I will be the one doing 17 pull-ups and grabbing onto rims.