Personal Narrative: My Dad

“The team is a body when one part of the body fails to complete its task the entire body suffers.” That's exactly what my father told my entire basketball team before one of our biggest basketball games was about to begin. My father was my first coach and he always preached accountability and being a man of character. Those words he spoke to me had such a strong impact on my life. Going to practice day in and day out was tough; however, once I recognized that I wasn’t just playing for myself it made the hassle more bearable. Having my father as my coach had its pros and cons, I enjoyed the idea of my Dad being the coach; it was cool and provided many hours of bonding. Though the downside was that it always seemed to be more personal when

I'm always on time to school, church, and other functions, as well as turning in work and assignments and meeting deadlines. My Dad made it really important to me to be on time, he always said “if you can't be on time, be early,” and I’ve applied that to my life ever since I first heard him say that I pride myself on trying to be on time. Beyond being on time, I work hard in the classroom because I knew if I didn’t have the grades I wouldn’t be able to compete. My father always stressed the importance of doing well academically. He emphasized how important it was for me to be good a student so that I could succeed in life. My Dad and I always celebrate when I do well in the classroom and that's makes doing well so much more rewarding. Beyond the classroom, I volunteer at my Dad’s church, I work with the live streams and participate in a mentoring program for high school boys. I always have to be at church at a certain time to set up the live stream. I’m a very involved member of my Dad’s mentoring program, “Man Up,” and I make the greatest effort to never miss a meeting. It's the seeds of accountability that my Dad sowed into me that encourage me to continue to volunteer and provide a service to others not only within my church and school but everywhere I