Grit
I was not born into an educated family, or a wealthy family, or a successful family, yet somehow many of us have been bestowed with grit. Grit from Websters dictionary means "firmness of mind or spirit : unyielding courage in the face of hardship or danger". Although I am not sure that I have ever faced real danger, I certainly have had some hardships, though much less than some.
As a child and teen I loved sports and would play all the time. I didn't really like the competition, but I liked the physicallness and the team work. When I was in high school, I blew out my knee before sophomore year and had to give up playing basketball, which I wasn't that sad about because high school sports felt intimidating to me. I went out for tennis instead and picked up the racket for the first time when I was almost 16. My skill was OK and I played the number 2 singles spot in our small high school, though my form was never proper and I was self-taught (our coach had neve...