Humans of Cox: October 2022 Edition

“Out of the 17 years, 6,440 days I have been alive; out of all those days, none were more important to me than March 20, 2020. That is the day I committed to play D1 baseball at the University of Maryland. Most people do not experience a day like this because they finally accomplished the goal they’ve been working for their whole life. For me, I have different reasons. My reasons go much deeper than that. While yes, I was happy that all my hard work had paid off, but no feeling could ever compare to me looking at my parents’ faces when I got the call. My father had tears running from his eyes from the happiness he felt for me. As soon as I hung the phone up, he squeezed me and said the words, “ You did it, I’m so proud of you”.  As a 14-year old kid seeing and hearing that finally gave me my “why”. Why do you wake up to go to the gym at 5 a.m.? Why are you lifting weights at 10 p.m.?  Why are you hitting for three hours a day? Every time someone says something motivational or anytime I ever question myself as to why I work so hard, I come back to that moment. I keep it in the back of my mind and whenever I feel doubtful I remember the moment I got my reason “why.” – senior Riley DeCandido