“Be the coffee.” That quote has been a very motivational phrase that I think about everyday and there is a story behind it. My softball coach, who was a teacher at my school, once explained a story about a grandfather who was talking to his granddaughter. He had a pot of boiling water, and in the pot was a potato, and egg, and coffee grounds. After the objects had sat in the boiling water for some time he separated them out and showed them to his granddaughter. All three items were exposed to the same situation, they all were in the hot water and had pressure, for the same time. However, the egg hardened under the heat and pressure. The potato became soft and malleable. But when he got to the coffee, he said that the coffee that experienced the same hard conditions as the egg and potato, reacted in a way that benefited everything around it. The coffee changed the way the entire pot of water tasted. In life, everyone has hard times and struggles, but we can try to help others around us. Ever since my coach told me that story it has been a quote that we pass back and forth. On the best days of our lives and on the sad days, if we look for the good and if we try to be the good in the world, things seem to be better. When we help others we grow to be better person and we develop stronger relationships that can change the world through positivity. The quote serves as a reminder to always strive to make the best out of situations, “be the coffee.”

This is at the top of the Currituck Lighthouse, in North Carolina. Over a spring break a while back, my grandmother and I took a trip to the Outer Banks and visited several lighthouses. We climbed 214 steps to the top even though I had a sprained ankle and a broken bone in my foot that did not heal(physical therapy has helped pain go away) but, we decided we were still going to make it to the top, and we did.