Anton, Part 2

Anton

This was Anton when he was two or three years old. Now, he is 16 and he wrote the following:

I can only vaguely remember my preschool days, where as I would step out of our car in the morning to go to class, my father would stop me and say, “Be the best you can.” This is when my “defining moment” began. This line was so simple. So simple that it may have slipped away from my mind as I advanced through my school years. And because of this, I dread to think that I have only become a mere fraction of what I could have become.

Last year gave me one of my most enduring moments. We auditioned for our school’s Battle of the Bands, and two weeks later, we were given the news that we had advanced to the finals. I can recall how surreal, yet at the same time, satisfying it was since, literally and undeniably, years of hard work and sacrifice had paid off.

The day of the performance was humbling to say the least – being with musicians whom I had greatly admired and knowing that we were going to compete against them was incredible. As we walked to the stage to perform, I suddenly remembered what my father used to tell me: “Be the best you can.” And all of a sudden, all the times that I only let myself become a fraction of what I could have been came to mind, and I promised that I would not let this happen at that moment. Knowing this, I tried to accomplish my father’s advice to the best of my ability.

We did not win the event; we did not even win a place. But all this did not matter. All that mattered was that we did our best, and so we had no regrets. Anyway, the time given to us on stage to perform was more than enough of a prize for me.

As I analyze my experience now, I can conclude that when we do anything, we must go all out and give everything we have got. We must never limit ourselves to only a fraction of what we can be. In fact, failure to live life to the fullest may be the saddest mistake one can commit in his or her lifetime.

Yes, the line “Be the best you can” may be a simple forgettable line. I know this by experience. But this is a sentence that we definitely must always remember.

(With Anton's permission)