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Student athletes of all ages across the country dedicate their lives to athletics with the dream of someday becoming The Greatest. I’ve met young boys who dream of being drafted into the NBA and the NFL and older women who have shared stories with me of their active youth, and how they still daydream about their lives when it was colored with team jerseys, medals, and grass fields to play and work hard on. Athletics are not stagnant. They are movement and engagement between the mind, the body, and the soul. The mind calculates, the body executes, and the soul supplies the passion and willingness to do well. When an athlete plays with heart, it often shows. What I’ve gathered through my observations is that athletes who work hard, are passionate. Athletes who put forth minimal effort oftentimes do not share the same drive to become a better version of themselves. I’ve also met athletes who receive high acclaim for their raw talent and merit that have become complacent with their achievements and no longer have a goal to do better. I’ve also met athletes who receive recognition for their hard work and talent who still refuse to slack or even indicate complacency. Great athletes always work toward greatness, no matter how great they feel they may be or how great others tell them they are. Complacency leads to stagnancy. If one is stagnant, one cannot improve. Greatness is not a state of being, it is a state of mind. by Amanda Howard