Can Softball Present a Problem for Others?
Eldridge Cleaver once said, "You're either part of the solution or part of the problem." I love to play softball, and sometimes my passion for this sport causes problems with friends and family who want me to do things with them instead of devoting time to my favorite sport. It is the purpose of this essay to explore the ramifications of my love for softball and how that focus negatively impacts important people in my life.
Since I was very young I have loved to play softball. I matured early and was one of the most active people in my class and neighborhood in upper elementary school years and in junior high. Many people that I spent time with liked to play softball, so I played, too, enjoying the camaraderie and fantastic physical outlet of this great American game·baseball. Because I matured earlier than many of my classmates I was physically very capable and was often the first chosen for a team. That was a good experience for a young person.
It is unfortunate, though, that not everyone in my world shares my passion for this humble sandlot sport. Not everyone shares my thrill at watching the ball lob through the air, almost in slow motion and loving the dull thud of the ball hitting the glove or the bat. The sound and the feel of it are so different from hardball, and it's as if it is hotwired into the cells of my being, the love for the sensory aspects of softball. Frankly my friends and family are jealous of the time I spend playing softball. They want me to do other things with them, and I try, but I am so devoted to this sport. It feels like a sacrifice to take time away from it. It makes me sad to have to make this choice at times, between family and close friends who do not share my passion and my passion. I have tried to convince them to come and watch or to join in, but unfortunately some of them are spectators only. It is not as fun for them as it is for ...