Adversity

It has been way too long since the last time that I wrote one of these, and I don’t like it at all. So here it goes. Please bear with me, this first one back might be a little slow and it may not be my best.

Something that every person goes through in life is adversity. There are so many possible ways for people to encounter adversity that there is no way of naming them all. I’ve seen my fair share of adversity and struggles, but I believe that I have gotten stronger because of them. Think of all of the successful people that were faced with adversity and despite the fact that the odds were stacked up against them they overcame those adversities. Jackie Robinson. The 2004 Boston Red Sox. Yasiel Puig. Sorry for them all being baseball references, but you have to stick to something that you know a lot about and that you love. Now let me talk about those references, because just mentioning them doesn’t do them justice.

 Jackie Robinson, number 42, the first black baseball player in the Major Leagues will always be remembered for his contribution to America’s game despite the adversity and hatred that he received in the beginning. There had never been anyone like him on a major league baseball field; and by that I mean a black man and also a man that was so strong that he could take the hatred and put every single person doubting him or hating him in their place. Branch Rickey certainly picked the best black player to break the color barrier, and without that choice baseball would not be what it is today. Not only was Jackie a great player, but he had to brush off all of the negativity forced upon him in order to play a game that everyone else in the league played and were dubbed heroes. Not many people could have imagined that a young black man playing for the Brooklyn Dodgers would be the greatest hero of them all. Adversity changed that man’s life, and that man changed the game of baseball for good.

Next there’s the 2004 Boston Red Sox World Series Champions, the idiots, a Red Sox team that made history and destroyed the dreaded Curse of the Bambino. For 86 years they failed year after year to take that beloved trophy home, and it seemed like they might not ever win it again. With a team of misfits, it was obvious that people doubted that they would even make the playoffs, but they did. Fast forward to the ALCS series against their rival, the New York Yankees. Of course, everyone already thought that the Red Sox were the underdog in this series, and even more so after they went down 3 games to 0. With more pressure and more doubt put on them, they won game 4, and game 5, and game 6, and game 7. They were the first team to ever come back from a 3-0 deficit in a series and win. I remember watching it as a 10 year old in amazement. After that happened, most of the doubters jumped on the bandwagon and the Red Sox kept rolling to a sweep of the Cardinals in the World Series. The curse was broken, and the adversity was overcome. The adversity helped fuel that team of idiots, because they just wanted to prove everyone wrong and to put the Curse of the Bambino to the grave.

Then there is Yasiel Puig, a Cuban born rookie outfielder for the Los Angeles Dodgers. He worked his way all the way through the Dodgers farm system, tearing it up at every level and then finally got a chance at the big show. I remember people saying that he was too cocky, that he would never make it in the majors. Puig soon put those people to shame by backing up his cocky attitude and putting together a tremendous season. He was a big part in leading the Dodgers to an unbelievable second half of the season putting them in the playoffs. There are so many things that he had to overcome and so many reasons that he had to prove himself. He’s Cuban and Cubans are known to be very good, so he had to live up to the hype. Being cocky, he had to prove that he was cocky for a reason. He had to show that his success in all of the Minor League levels wasn’t a fluke and that he was the real deal. This rookie used all of the adversity and doubt thrown at him to give him a reason to hit every pitch that was thrown at him. He took the adversity and he used it to make himself a better player.

Personally, I respect people that overcome adversity to accomplish goals and aspirations. I hope to one day become one of those people, but I still have a lot of work ahead of me. In high school, my sophomore year, my varsity baseball coach gathered the team and told us to our faces that none of us would play college baseball. At first, I thought about it and being 5’8” and a pitcher I figured that he was right. I couldn’t believe that a coach would ever say that to his players, but somehow I change my mindset completely and it made me work so much harder. I just wanted to show him and myself that he was completely wrong and that I could play at a higher level. A couple of other guys and I proved him wrong. Now, here I am pitching at Gordon College, a team that currently has adversity of its own. We have so many people on this campus and beyond to prove ourselves to. We not only have the task of proving that we can beat any team in our conference and that they can’t take us lightly, but we also have the task of proving to the faculty and students here at Gordon that we are good young men and that there is no reason for them to hate us. I am anxious to see how my team overcomes this adversity.

Adversity is inevitable in life. There is no reason to run from it, because it so much more satisfying to use it to become a better person. Even when you feel like the world is against you, you need to keep pushing through it and do whatever you need to in order to accomplish the task of extinguishing the fire that is adversity. If you have the right mindset, you can and will prove people wrong. Never forget that although you think that your adversity is hard, there are people that have been faced with 10X harder adversity and have overcome it. Be strong, and carry on, for you have a goal in front of you and you cannot stop until you reach it.

-Eric Proulx #7

My body, my choices

The title is very ominous, but the picture says it all; this blog post is about tattoos. Tattoos are becoming much more main stream as of late, especially in people born from the 1980’s to the 2000’s (commonly referred to as “generation Y”). Even though tattoos are slowly but surely becoming more common that does not mean that people in past generations, and even generation Y, are going to be “for” tattoos. In fact, I have encountered numerous people in my own personal life that have criticized people for tattoos.

As most of you know, I am definitely “for” tattoos. I see tattoos as a great way to express yourself and a great way to make sure that things that mean something to you can be displayed for others to see and also to be a constant reminder for yourself. Personally, I don’t have a problem with people putting whatever they want on their bodies to be an extension of themselves. The way I see things is that it is your body and you can choose to do with it what you want. It doesn’t really matter what others think of what you’re doing because ultimately it’s your choice and your choice alone.

Even if a person is against getting tattoos themselves it doesn’t give them the right to judge you for your choices. Nothing really gives anyone the right to judge someone. Tattoos are just a personal choice like anything else, such as smoking cigarettes or wearing a certain brand of clothing. If you see tattoos as a way to show a part of you, then go for it. To me, tattoos are just another form of art. Tattoos can be the most beautiful displays of a person’s life and/or personality.

I have heard numerous people say that because someone has tattoos they won’t be able to get a good job. As far as I know, the only real way that businesses can use your tattoos to not hire you are those that explicitly state that in an application. Of course, there are still some businesses that do not state this and still do it but people assume that this is the case more often than it is. In reality, a person that has numerous tattoos can be just as successful as those that do not have tattoos. Most people forget that if you get a tattoo in the right places it is very easy to cover up to the point where people in the workplace won’t even notice it.

The odds are, no matter what choices you make in life there will be someone that doesn’t agree with it. You can’t go through life worrying about what other people think you should do. Do what makes you happy. If you like tattoos and want to use them to express yourself then who cares what everyone else thinks? I see self-expression as a very important part of becoming your true self. If you can’t express yourself without worrying what others think then I don’t believe that you can say that you are completely being yourself.

I may be a tad bit biased when it comes to this subject, but this is a way to express myself. Some people may not agree with me and that is alright because everyone is entitled to their opinion. Yes I have three tattoos and I plan on getting more. I have things that mean so much to me that I want to display them in beautiful art for others to see. That doesn’t mean that I won’t be successful.

-Eric Proulx

Pave the Way

Have you ever sat alone at night wondering how you will be remembered after you’re gone? I myself have sat in bed late at night just thinking about how people will speak of me after my time on this earth has run out. Some day we will all turn into thoughts and no longer human bodies in this world we know and love. To some it may be scary to think about the fact that before we know it our short time here will be over and we will be moving on to God knows what, a heaven that we have yet to encounter and a heaven that we can only try to imagine but not know if our dreams of heaven are real. But not to me.

To me, it is a very long time to do something significant here. Yes our physical lives here may only last from 80 to 100 years, but the lasting effects of our lives could live on as long as mankind does. Our significance cannot even be fully measured or realized in our lifetime because we do not know the effect that it will have on the future after we have moved on. Think of those who fought for rights for African Americans, but did not even live to see those rights fulfilled. They were not sure whether or not the rights would be met during their lifetime or not and they still fought for these rights because they believed in it. Little did they know that people would remember them for generations and would look at them as heroes.

I find it amazing that the things that I do in my life may be remembered by people who have yet to be born. The decisions that I make now can and will affect my children’s lives and likely their children’s lives as well. When you do things you can’t just simply think of yourself and what the benefits will be for you. You should instead think of how this will benefit people in the future. In a way our short time on this earth is insignificant. When you think about how long this planet and mankind have been around you realize that your time is very short in the grand scheme of things. But also in a way our time here is very important. We are the people who will pave the way for the future and that is very significant.

The important thing about your actions in life is not to do something amazing in your lifetime for yourself that people may or may not remember. The important thing is to do something in your lifetime that you will be remembered for because of its lasting effect on the future of mankind. I’ve heard it said that it doesn’t matter how much time you have, it matters how you spend the time that you have.

When it comes down to it, our time here is very limited. We must strive to make use of this limited time because it is all we have. People always say to try to live in the present as much as possible, and you should do that. But you can’t just live in the present without thinking about the lasting effect that you will have on your future and the future of other people. So what will you be remembered for? You don’t necessarily have to do something great in the eyes of everyone to be remembered; you just have to do something great in the eyes of the people that matter. Live your life with the future in mind, your future and the future of your children and your children’s children, but continue to live in the present with it in mind. Life is too short for you not to take full advantage of it for yourself and for others. Live it up.

-Eric Proulx

Proving People Wrong

Clearly I have baseball on my mind with the season quickly approaching. It feels weird being a freshman on the baseball team again. Going from a senior and being a captain of your team to joining a team as one of the new guys is a huge transition. The main thing on my mind right now is that I have to prove myself to people. I’m here to prove to people that I’m here to play baseball for a reason and I’m here to show everyone how much baseball means to me.

When I was younger, in little league, I can remember always being the best kid on my team. I remember some people looking up to me and I remember always being the go to guy to win the game. As I got older, not only did the competition level become much greater but the competition level within the team became greater as well. I got to junior high and I experienced competing with other players for playing time. This is one of the things that still drives me today; the idea that playing time is earned and not simply given to me is fresh in my mind.

Then high school came and after freshman year I had proved that I was good enough to play varsity. My goal had always been to play varsity as a sophomore and when I accomplished that it just drove me more. Although I had already earned my spot on varsity, the following year I didn’t slack on my training and was more than ready by the time tryouts came around. I was the kid that would start counting down the day’s right after fall baseball ended. Being a captain my senior year was a great honor and I was absolutely crushed when we didn’t make the playoffs. The good thing is that now I get to move on from that and work towards winning a championship here at Gordon College. I think that I as a freshman owe it to the older guys, especially the seniors, to work hard and win games. This is the senior’s last chance for a championship in a program that is so much further along than it has been in the past.

With that being said I want to shift back to the fact that I’m here to prove people wrong. When I started to not be able to see the catcher’s signs and realized that I had to wear glasses to play baseball I wasn’t happy at all. I went to try to get contacts and the eye doctor literally told me that my eyes were too small to put them in and he couldn’t even do it. That crushed me, and I figured that playing baseball with glasses was going to be really hard, but that didn’t stop me. I kept working hard and kept growing as a player despite having a sort of setback. Eventually I got used to wearing them during baseball and now I’m completely fine with it.

Sometimes I even look at it as an advantage for me. I feel like the hitters look at me and think that there’s no way that this nerdy looking kid can pitch, but soon enough they find out. For those people that do make that assumption, I’m here to prove you wrong. During my first year on varsity I remember my coach saying something at a practice that I will never forget. The whole team was around him and he was talking to us before we ran at the beginning of practice and he said to us, “None of you will play baseball in college.” I remember all of us looking around with confused faces and talking about what he had said throughout the whole run. From that day on I made it one of my goals to prove him wrong. I wasn’t the first player on that team to play college baseball and I’m glad that 3 of us made it to the next level. That’s why I’m here; I’m here to prove him wrong.

As a program here at Gordon College I think that we have people to prove wrong as well. We need to prove the other teams that look at us as an easy win wrong. We need to prove those coaches that passed us up or didn’t recruit us as heavily what they’re missing out on. We need to prove every other person on this campus that thinks that our baseball program is a joke wrong.

If anyone doubts me or us right now, go ahead. Come the end of the season we’ll see what you think. Take my word for it; we will succeed as a team this year. The most important word in that last sentence is team, remember that. If you’re reading this and thinking that I’m cocky you’re wrong; there’s a difference between cockiness and confidence.

-Eric Proulx

Everyone's A Critic

I’ve noticed over the years that criticism is a very big part of almost every single person’s life. Criticism can either help you grow into the best person that you can be or it can break you down; it all depends on how you take it. I’ve known people that were absolutely great at sports and they could have been so much better if they would have been able to just take criticism. Coaches would always try to suggest things to make them a better player but they were “uncoachable”.

It made me mad seeing all of these great athletes and listening to my dad give them constructive criticism that they wouldn’t take. I guess I did the same thing at times, but eventually I began to take constructive criticism and try to build on my skills. I also think that if you learn to take constructive criticism it will help you grow as a person. People don’t only give criticism to you as an athlete, but also in life in general. Some people aren’t afraid to speak their mind and tell you how they feel. The key is to take that comment and use it to better yourself.

With all that being said, I want to shift into the idea that I am my biggest critic. Everyone is a critic at one point in their life, especially of themselves. Sometimes it’s good to criticize yourself because it is a good way to better yourself, but too much self-criticism can lead you down a pretty dark path. Then again, if you aren’t hard enough on yourself you can also lead yourself in the wrong direction and get caught up in things that you shouldn’t be doing. It happens to a lot of people and the most important thing is you learn to stop whatever you’re doing. You need to crack down and work hard to get where you want to go.

Honestly, I’ve been getting sidetracked lately. I haven’t gone to the gym very much at all. Now is time for me to focus more than ever. Classes are just about to start to get back into action and baseball is right around the corner. This isn’t the time for me to lose sight of one of the best things in my life right now. It’s time for me to look in the mirror, to see my flaws, and to criticize myself on the things that I don’t like. Ultimately, only I can push myself in the direction that I want to go.

Anyone can criticize themselves to be a better person. You just need to find that happy balance that will help you push yourself towards your goals but will keep you away from completely putting yourself down. I know from experience that it isn’t fun when you put yourself down for things that are completely out of your control. I used to criticize myself and beat myself up over things that I couldn’t change because I felt like I was at fault. Now that I’ve seen both radical sides of self-criticism, too much and too little, I can now drive myself correctly.

You’re going to have friends, family, and team mates giving you constructive criticism along the way too. It is also important to take their criticism correctly. Realizing that you’re in the wrong is a big part of that. Once you realize that those people actually care about you and aren’t happy with what you’re doing you can begin to work on things and to change your habits. In the long run, it’s better to change and be successful than to throw everything away for a little fun.

Thank you to all of those people who have criticized me over the years and been there for me to show me that I need to change something. You guys know who you are and I want you to know how much I appreciate your concern for me. In the end, the road of no criticism is lonely. You forget what your goals are and begin to not care. Try to criticize yourself if you can, or find someone else to do it for you. People can change, and sometimes it just takes a little criticism to realize that you need to. 

-Eric Proulx