Lines

Everywhere I look, I see lines.  I guess as a English major writing her senior thesis, finding deep analysis in ordinary things is something that comes pretty easily to me.

Walking home one evening I could not help but stare at the leaves on the sidewalk.  Bright red and orange leaves, the picture of fall.  As the rain hit the leaves on the sidewalk, I could not help but relate to them in a moment of weather related despair.  I felt as if I was one of these wet, trodden upon leaves on the sidewalk.  However, like these leaves, even though I have been trodden upon and rained on, I am still beautiful.  My color still manages to shine through the muddy footprints and the glistening raindrops only seem to enhance the vibrant color that radiates from within me.

A few days later I found myself on this same sidewalk focused on the lines.  The cracks in the sidewalks, the veiny lines of the leaves, the sharp angles of the buildings, everywhere I looked there was a line.

But then it dawned upon me that lines are everywhere—the line between right and wrong, the line between pass and fail, and so many others, but notably the line between good and great.

Here are Mary Baldwin as the manager of the softball team, I see athletes every day straddle the line between good and great.  I see decisions being made in hopes of moving  from being good to being great.  From upping weights in the weight room to putting in extra time, there are plenty of people who are trying to jump over that line and become great.  I have watched my coaches mull over decisions for the team because they know the impact they will have.  Their decisions can help take our team from good to great, to get over that line.

But I also see some people who are on the line between good and great and they are not doing quite enough to push themselves over the line.  Complacency is a bad thing for an athlete.  With this, you will never be great.  You will never make it over the “hump”, you will never get to take your game up to the next level.  If you are complacent, you have decided that good is good enough.

In order to be great, you have to make a conscious decision to get there.  Only you can decide what side of the line you fall on.  Do not settle for good when you can be great.  Know what side of the line you want to fall on.  If you are not there, take the step over to the side of the line you want to be on today.

Dedication is what gets you over the line from good to great.  It is the very thing that sets you apart—when glancing across the field, you can see who is dedicated, who is really living and breathing for every play.

When your athletic career is over, you want to fall solidly on the great side of the line.  In order to do so, you have to strive to be the best you can be—even when you are putting in the long hours, even when you are tired, even when your coach’s high expectations are proving trying.  The dedication to the sport and the hard work that comes out of that dedication is what pushes people into the next level, what makes people continue going.

What are you doing today to be great?

by Amanda Johnson