Outlook…Good! Optimistic and pessimistic attitudes constantly affect the outcome of people’s lives. In my life, I try to keep an optimistic attitude about the things I do because I know it will help lead me to more desirable ends. There have been many situations in which optimism has helped me through difficult times. Two areas in particular have provided me optimistic experiences: athleticsand academics. First, optimism was very apparent while I was the co-captain of my high school soccer team. I was captain during my senior year, perhaps the year we had the best team since I had begun playing in eighth grade. Right from the start of the season I had to show leadership and bring improvement in skill among the younger players. I worked side by side with my coach and the other co-captain to lead the team into what was to be a successful season. Also, in addition to working to improve the skills of the younger players, I had to increase the desire they had in their hearts to be on the field and play to the best of their abilities. This involved always having and showing a very positive attitude toward the team, no matter what the situation. It was easy for me just because of how much I loved playing soccer and how strong my desire was always to put forth my best performance. The most challenging times for me were those when we would be losing and all the players would get angry with one another. This was especially apparent when one of the defenders on our team would make a mistake and allow the other team to score. Many players would then yell at him creating a negative attitude both toward themselves and the player. At that time, even though I was actually angry myself, I would both stop the other players from yelling and offer encouragement to the one who had made the mistake. For the most part, I would simply offer some advice by pointing out what he had done wrong and told him how...
