Draft Status

Every team has specific needs, wants, and goals. They draft players that reflect their ideals and quality team play. But out of all the players ever to be drafted, there are those with the most "upside" or "potential". They are the projects that the team must build and train to become that perfect, complete player.

Besides getting paid millions of dollars, we are all exactly the same.

We build up our stats and fill out forms to be declared eligible. Colleges look at our numbers and pick the sure-fire ones, just as any good team would do. Then they look at the rest of the board and start picking and scratching. That is where the potential grade comes in. But potential is such a difficult thing to understand. Most of the time it goes untouched and is left dormant. Then there are those that train and practice for hours, push boundaries, and do everything they physically and mentally can to become the best player to ever play the game. And that is why we are blessed with players like Kobe Bryant, Adrian Peterson, and Derek Jeter. And it's also why we are blessed with people such as Kenneth Kinzler, Ghandi, and Helen Keller.

But to harness that potential there needs to be motivation. There has to be some sort of goal that we deem worthy enough to unleash our massive amount of potential. Even after a full year of college, and half a quarter, I still don't really know what I want to do. I've been juggling a few ideas in my head, writing down pros and cons of each, but in the end, I want to do every single one of those jobs. I want to teach. I want to be a doctor. I want to work in sports. I want to build things. But no matter which career I pursue I know I want to give it my all.

It was always hard for me to sit down and focus on the task at hand because I never saw the bigger picture. But slowly it's becoming clear. Right now my goal is to build up my G.P.A and transfer from my current team. Not because I don't enjoy it, but because I know my potential can be developed more at a higher institution. Midterm week passed and I was shocked to see some of my scores. For the first time in my life I saw what my hard work could do. I saw my potential coming into being. And now I finally have something to live up to. So far I've been doing things to please my parents. To please myself. But now I know neither of those things matter to me. What I'm living up for is to see other people realize their own potential and seize it.

It's taken me far too long to understand what I'm capable of. I've felt like a late round pick just roaming and doing just enough to stay on a team. But not anymore. I'm sick of sitting on the bench and being a cheerleader. It's time for me to make a comeback and become a starter. It's my time, UCLA or bust!