I believe that with hard-work and dedication that anything can be achieved. I have had many lessons in life that have taught me this exact belief.  I had to work to become my middle school valedictorian. I had to work to receive my black belt. I had to work to get enough money to buy my car. I have learned that to get anywhere in life that it must take hard-work and dedication to achieve a specific goal.  A symbol that reminds me of this hard-work and dedication is my #9 Lewandowski jersey. This jersey is extremely important to me and helps me to work hard when I want to complete something. 

This jersey has been apart of my life for a very long time.  I have worn it on many occasions to play soccer.  Whether that be for a game, practice, or just fooling around with some of my friends.  What I see in this jersey though, is hustle and hard-work, even when I’m just “fooling around”, Since I have worn it so many times it has become faded.  Furthermore, there are numerous grass stains, and attempted bleach to fix the stains.  By just taking a quick glance at the jersey, you can see how important it is to person the wears it.
The day that I realized that hard-work and hustle may get a person to where the want to be, is the same day I received my jersey.  My family was on a vacation in Poland to see some family.  One of the days, my dad took me to my first Polish International Friendly. This is a soccer game that is played in Poland against other national teams, without any consequence or purpose. However, as a soccer player and as an athlete, there is always a purpose.  That purpose is to work hard to win. My dad bought me my Lewandowski jersey before we entered the stadium.  Lewandowski had been having an amazing season as Poland’s top goal scoring striker. 

The day we went, Poland was playing Germany. Germany was the best team in the world, and Poland was about twentieth. Therefore, it was evident that Germany was going to easily win. Lewandowski didn’t see it that way though. He was determined to work hard and score some goals for Poland, and to hopefully win.  Lewandowski scored twice that game.  Both goals were amazing and extremely fought for. When I saw Lewandowski sweating and downright exhausted from the incredible game, I saw what hard-work looked like. I strive to work hard, and to become the best that I can be. 

In conclusion, whenever I look at my jersey, all I can imagine is hard-work, determination, victory, and pain. The jersey for me is a sign of what it takes to become something great, or do do something great.  It shows me that it takes hard work and determination to reach the goals that are wanted to be achieved.  Hard work is when a person goes above and beyond what they think is capable. Hard-work is to do that action continuously without any objection, even when it becomes difficult. This is exactly what my jersey reminds me to strive for, everyday of my life.