My journey started when I was around 8 years old. My father took me to a driving range. As we entered the lobby I realized that I had never seen so many clubs before. The assortment of clubs in my father's bag was intriguing. Clubs of all shapes and sizes riddled his bag. My father surprised me with a bag of my own clubs due to me not being big enough. I always wanted to be like my father, he was my superman. After we paid for our session he pulled me along toward the range. As my feet made contact with the turf of the mat I felt a sense of relief and relaxation. Golf had always seemed boring to me, but I wanted to give it a shot. Standing on the turf, I looked down at my feet with my jet-black TaylorMade driver head dangling towards the ground. My father placed a ball on the rubber tee and told me to hit it. Without hesitation, I swung. I looked up and saw a vast green view with little white specs scattered across the plain. I turned to my father and saw a smile dawn upon his face. He pointed to my feet. There at my feet lay a rooted white golf ball standing unstirred on the tee. I was confused and frustrated. I had swung as hard as my frail arms could and the ball hadn't moved. My father kneeled to face me eye to eye. He told me to calm down and try again. I went back and swung again, this time hitting the ball straight up in the air. I wanted to quit. I looked up at my father another time, his expression showed confusion. "Why are you upset?" he questioned. I didn't know how to respond. I hated making mistakes. I called back, "I hate messing up." My father smoothly glided back over towards me. He calmly sat me down on the bench behind the tee box. He stated, "Ethan in life we all fail, but at the end of the day, it is your choice whether you give up or you get back up and keep trying. You create your destiny and if you want something bad enough you are going to do whatever it takes to get it." In my 8-year-old mind, I didn't take what he said as seriously as I would have now, but it did give me faith in myself. I walked towards the tee box with pride. My father gently placed a ball on the tee and left me to myself. I positioned myself in the way my father would, imagining myself as his little sidekick. I inhaled deeply and visioned myself slamming the ball as far as my father did. With a gradual drawback of my driver and a powerful swing, I hit the ball. My eyes darted to the sky. I saw my ball hurtling through the light blue sky. I felt accomplished over this simple feat. Turning back to my dad I saw his face lit up with joy. As I grow older I realize that I am starting to distance myself from my father. Now that I play other sports and compete at a higher level it is hard for me to get to spend time with him. Every once in a while we go play 18 holes and we truly do enjoy it. Golf is important to me because it brings me and my father together. I am grateful for golf and my father because they both taught me things about myself and life.