Personal Narrative: My Father

My father grew up dreaming of becoming a boxing world champion. Unlike my dad, I never had a specific dream of what I wanted to be when I grew up. This scared me because I always believed that knowing what you want to be was a monumental step in becoming an adult and I was always unsure about my future. Anyway, my dad had some success at a young age. He fought fighters who were number 1 or 2 in the world when he was just an ameture. In 1982, he won the New York Golden Gloves. He was on his way to fame when he suddenly became sick at the age of 21. He was diagnosed with arrhythmia and could no longer fight. Quickly, his dream became nothing more than that. Just a dream. A few years later, he decided to move on. He made a name for himself at

I remember how disheartened my dad was when even the people closest to him doubted him and his ability to train Joe. They told him he was wasting his time and that Joe was just a poor kid from Mastic who wanted to make a quick buck. Even if this was true, my dad never believed it and continued to try to achieve his dream and create a world champion. Joe knocked out his opponent in 2 minutes and 32 seconds of the first round of the fight. For the first time, I saw somebody close to me turn their dream into reality. And after seeing this, I finally realized, after a childhood filled with uncertainty, who and what I want to be. After this moment, I was no longer a child with a cloudy future. I became sure that I wanted success. And that I will work as hard as I can to get it. I grew up watching the highs and lows of his passion. I saw first hand the struggle that must occur in order to achieve an ultimate goal. I realized that I wanted to be a journalist, to follow inspiring stories like these. I understand now that nothing is handed to you and quitting when things get difficult isn 't an option. Dreams are tough to achieve, but if you stick with something and work hard enough for it, who 's to say your dreams won 't become your reality