Valor, national boys 16U winner of the 2022 NJTL essay contest reflects on the speech he made in NYC one year later…
Despite writing this speech over a year ago, I still view my future as a giant question mark. I’m still unsure of what I will and want to become. Even as a current junior in high school, I still struggle to weed out my dreams and passions. However, I have all the time in the world to discover who I am. A future writer? A doctor? No matter what I do in the future, I plan to be successful, but most importantly HAPPY. As I said in my speech, I fear working a meaningless job I don’t enjoy day after day. I don’t currently know what I’m meant for, but i know it’s not that.
Valor’s speech;
Before I start I would like to the USTA Foundation, the NJTL, the MaliVai Washington Youth Foundation, and Ms. Terri for making it possible for me to be here in New York today. My name is Valor and currently that may be all you know about me. I've never been a big talker. If you were there throughout my life, you would describe me as the definition of "passive" or describe me as an introvert. Now is that a quality about myself I resent?...not at all. It just means Instead of expressing my feelings out loud, I would just express them in my head. Living in my head is something I tend to do a lot. Now is that a quality I resent about myself?... yes and no. I mean it's always great to use one's imagination. The infinite possibilities that can take place in a single person's mind are unbelievable. The MaliVai Washington Youth Foundation has taught me this lesson directly. That it's always great to use your imagination to problem solve or even just visualize where you want to be in the future. Learning how to play tennis teaches traits such as confidence, sportsmanship, and teamwork into my life I know I'll be prepared for whatever my occupation is in the future. I would definitely say I have picked up some of these qualities by playing tennis through the foundation. I can admit I am not the best tennis player to ever live, but lately I have seen improvement. The more improvement I see the more I want to get back on the court and play. This drive is what gets me on the court in the first place. This drive keeps me focused. It keeps me wanting more. It keeps me focused on the idea of being better. And the only true way to do this would be to practice skills such as confidence, character, sportsmanship, and teamwork, just like Mayor Dinkins believes not only on the court but off too. These skills and wants will not ever leave me. They will continue to be my drive to become an author. Now I would be lying if I said practice makes perfect, but it sure does create progress. This relates back to one of the most asked questions ever, furthermore the question I haven't been able to answer head-on recently. And the question is "what do you want to be when you grow up." I know the cliché is a doctor or lawyer or you may even hear an astronaut here or there, but to me this question has always been difficult to answer. Because to be frank I DONT KNOW. I really don't. And sometimes that scares me. But this is truly something I need to learn to live with. It's okay for me to not have my whole life plan written out year after year, day after day in my head. I am 15 and I have more than enough time to figure out who I am. However, there is one thing I'm sure of... in the future I want to be doing something I love. I don't want to wake up 30 years from now at 8:30 in the morning just to leave my empty apartment for a job I couldn't care less about, then come home later in the day just to repeat the same cycle the next. If I wanted to live like that I might as well just stay in school the rest of my life. But to be transparent I don't know exactly what "Valor" will be doing in the future. All I know is that it will be something he enjoys. And whatever it is I know he'll be great at it. I mean, his first name is Valor, meaning great courage in the face of danger, especially in battle. Now I can't dare to imagine the battles that lie ahead of us, Valor, but all I know is that we will face them with great courage.
Valor, 2nd from right, at the US Open Arthur Ashe Center Court in NYC
