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

Picking up pennies

Whenever I walk by any change on the ground I get the biggest urge to pick it up and I can’t help myself. You can ask my family members or my girlfriend, there has been times where we were walking somewhere and in a hurry and I stopped to grab up one penny.  There’s just something about money on the ground that makes me stop whatever I’m doing and pick it up.

Everyone always makes fun of me when I pick up change, but I don’t care. I’m hoping that I’m not the only one that does this, but I’m not ashamed that I do it. In my eyes, money is money. No matter if it is a penny or a 20 dollar bill I’m going to pick it up. There’s no reason for perfectly good money to go to waste by sitting on the ground as people walk by it.

I feel like wherever I go I find money on the ground, it’s really weird. I could be in the mall, walking down random stairs, or getting out of the car and I’ll see money just sitting there. It’s probably because people don’t value change as much as they should. They part with it like it’s no big deal and that it’s just a hassle to have. It may be true that it is a hassle to carry around change, but it is worth it.

Change really adds up over time. Think of when you were a kid and you had a piggy bank. It’s the same thing. If you pick up the change you find on the ground and you don’t touch that money at all it will add up and help you out in a time of need. It’s simple really. Before you know it you’ll have $300 and be able to get yourself out of a tough situation. My girlfriend and I saved change for our whole senior year and we used it to buy a hamster (which was probably not a good use of it but she is so adorable) and to buy dinner and other miscellaneous things. Every penny I have picked up was worth it.

Sometimes after I come out of a store I feel generous and drop coins on purpose. You might think that this is me not caring about change, but it isn’t that at all. I remember that when I was younger I used to love finding change on the ground because I was a kid and a penny felt like so much to me. I drop change on purpose in hopes that I can make a little boy’s day. It’s just a small act, but as a kid finding a bunch of change on the ground can really make your day.  

I urge you to think twice when you walk by some change. It’ll help you more than it can hurt you. What do you have to lose? Or don’t pick the change up because I’m perfectly happy picking up the change that you just stroll by and don’t bother with. Whether you pick it up or not isn’t really my concern, I just hope that you value change more because in reality it is money and does have worth. Judge me if you want, but I’m going to continue to pick up pennies.

-Eric Proulx                                 

Taking time for granted

Time is something that we all wish we had more of. We complain that we don’t have enough time to do things or we feel like time is moving too quickly. There are so many sayings that we use that refer to time. Time is of the essence. Time flies when you’re having fun. I don’t have enough time is definitely the saying that resonates most with me.

I came across a quote by William Shakespeare, I don’t know where it’s from but it is very profound as most of his writings are. He says, “Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow, creeps in this petty pace from day to day.” This is seems very obvious when you first think about it. Obviously time doesn’t actually move at different speeds, but still we feel like everything is moving faster than it should be. Clearly this is just our perception of time, but why do we perceive it this way?

From what I’ve noticed in myself and in others, our culture is accustomed to rushing things. We don’t slow down to appreciate things like we should. In our minds things should get done fast so we rush and make them harder for ourselves. By rushing it ends up taking longer because we aren’t worried as much about the quality of what we’re doing. When we rush to finish homework we risk doing it wrong it having to do it all over again. In reality, it would be smart to slow down and pay attention more to detail.

There are so many things we miss when we just rush and don’t pay attention to our surroundings. We rush when we’re driving and we don’t enjoy the things around us. When you’re stuck in traffic you should be able to throw some good music on and just relax because there’s really nothing you can do if you’re stuck in traffic. You just have to wait. It’s not that time is moving faster, we are just perceiving time it different ways in different situations.

If you look at time the same way in every situation then more power to you, but I have yet to witness that. It’s our perception of time that leads to stress. If we would just relax and use our time wisely or plan out the day so that you have a time set do to all of the things you need to, our stress levels would be very low.

It doesn’t matter what you’re doing; if you’re stressed I urge you to take a breath and relax. You have plenty of time to do the things that you need to, you just need to put in the right amount of effort and use the time you have wisely. You should be able to enjoy every second of every day in one way or another. Now that doesn’t mean that you need to like doing the things that you are doing all the time, but you should feel blessed with the time that you have.

We really do take time for granted. Think of those people who are sick and are told they only have 6 months to live. All that those people want is time, and we’re throwing it away like it’s nothing. A greater appreciation of time would lead to a greater appreciation of life itself. Enjoy the time you are given, because we don’t live forever. Use your time wisely and make it count. And always remember that it isn’t the amount of time that matters, it’s how you use that time.

-Eric Proulx

Just a number

Yesterday was a very important day. My dad turned 50. Yes you read that right, 50. But what does this mean in his life? Not what it means for most people. For most people 50 is the age where they have their mid-life crisis or change their life in some way. My dad’s mid-life crisis, if you can even call it that, is probably going to be coaching another basketball team or baseball team.

My dad has always been the kind of guy that likes to help people. He’s always been involved in the community in some way. When I was younger I can’t remember him not being there. He was always either helping out with recreation sports through the recreation committee or coaching or something else. Now that I’m off at college, he’s still that man. I mean the guy had elbow surgery not too long ago and doesn’t even live in the town that he’s coaching a recreation basketball team in. He just wants to be able to be the man that he has always been, a selfless giving role model.

He’s such a great role model, not only for me but for everyone that he has coached or will coach in the future. Hearing other people say that he is a role model for them or that he is a great coach just makes me so happy. Because other people can start to understand how great of a dad he is. I have the privilege to call this great man that you all know and love my dad. I know that he’s very proud of me, but I’m also proud that he’s continuing to be that involved man that he’s always been.

Sometimes turning 50 is a big deal for people, but I don’t see it changing my dad at all. I mentioned that he got elbow surgery. The thing he was worried about most was that he had a good arm slot for throwing. Basically that means that he was worried the most about playing catch with me after surgery. He could have been worried about his elbow not hurting anymore, but instead he was selfless and thought about sharing our love of baseball.

My dad is truly one of the greatest men I know. He’s touched so many lives, and he deserves to be told that. I got a taste of coaching a couple of years ago with him and it was an awesome experience. I can’t wait to coach with him again someday and help out people just like he does.

Age is just a number. It doesn’t matter whether you’re 20 or 50; if you’re active and stay engaged in the community you can continue to help people out. You just have to take initiative. At 50 my dad is a seasoned veteran at coaching and dealing with customers at work. He knows so many people from the area and I always ask him where he knows them from. The common answers are either C&R or rec sports. It’s getting to the point where when kids hear that my dad is coaching they want to play the sport even more. That means something. Even at work the customers love talking to my dad and feel completely comfortable bringing their cars there because of him.

I know that there’s father’s day when you get to show your dad just how much he means to you, but you shouldn’t wait until father’s day to do that. Tell your dad how awesome he is. As often as you can. They’re proud of you, but they’re the ones who raised you to be the way you are. Dad, you may be 50 but I know you can still keep up with me just like you did when you were 35. Keep doing what you’re doing, because you’ve influenced so many people in your life so far. The biggest influence has been on me. I am the man I am because of you. Thank you.

-Eric Proulx