What’s your reason for waking up every day and doing what you do? What is your drive to be better at what you do? What is your purpose each day? These are the questions that inspire today’s blog, generated by media students at MBU, the second of two blogs on this topic.
Photo illustration by Molly Munoz
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My drive is to get up each day and get a little bit better than the previous day, whether that be for baseball or as a person in general. Because baseball is the focus of my time, this is often where my drive is inspired from. To be playing college baseball means that I have already entered the small percentage of people who have continued on from high school. I view this as an accomplishment on its own, but that only makes me want to pass further and become part of the even smaller percentage of those who make it to the MLB. What drives me to play this sport that demands so much is my love for the game. Baseball is such a mental and intricate sport that I learn or even relearn something every day, and this helps me fall even more for the game that has given me everything. On a broader spectrum, my purpose every day is to become a better person so that my siblings and peers can look to me and feel proud. One thing that I have learned in my near-22 years of life is that nothing good ever comes easy, and that doesn’t mean that every day you are gonna feel like you are up against a mountain, but every day you will be tested in ways that are big or small, and it is up to you to rise to the occasion. This is something that I struggle with because it is obviously easier to take the easy road, but the payout will never be as sweet. ____________________________________________________________ By ROSS MUNROE My drive to get up each morning comes from my fear of wasting a day I will never get back. My purpose each day is to better myself, my family and others I come into contact with, because if you do right by others you are doing right for yourself. Sometimes it’s hard to get up early for things like school or work, yet I seem to have no problem waking up early to go on vacation, fishing or hunting. When I have to wake up early, I try to attack a less-than-desirable day with the same attitude as I’d have at the start of a positive day. After a day of accomplishing multiple tasks, I feel good about myself. I feel whole and satisfied because of it. You are not going to do yourself or others any favors by not living a happy and successful lifestyle. ____________________________________________________________ By DYLAN WALKER The education that is currently being paid for by a gentleman who has supported me and my tennis career since the age of 8 is one of the biggest things that keeps me going every day despite not knowing where I am going with my degree come December. The opportunity that I have to be successful and make a name for myself at a young age back in my home country is one of the main reasons I wake up and do what I do. I want to make my parents and my sponsor proud of what I have done while being away from home, despite my first three years away being awful. Between depression, poor health, abysmal grades and a severe lack of love from family due to distance, being on a different island, my first experience away from home was awful. Wanting to prove that I can overcome all of these negative experiences adds to my drive every morning that I wake up. Seeing how my parents live at home and all the problems that they encounter while I am here, receiving an education, drives me to excel in my studies and tennis. The support they provide as I am away from my family is enough to supply the drive to overcome the obstacles of being a thousand miles away from my home. I currently have a hard time figuring out what my purpose is every single day that I wake up in my dorm. It gets more difficult as time goes on and as I get closer to my first goal of obtaining a degree. Sometimes it feels as if I am running out of time to become successful despite only being 21. ____________________________________________________________ By KARA WOLF I get out of bed in the morning because of who God is and who he says I am. God is good and he shows grace. He says I am his child and my sins are covered because of Christ. God calls me to be more like Christ every day through love. I am to love God, love others and love myself. My call is to also spread the good news of God’s grace to more people for their lives to reflect Christ as well. The purpose of my life can all be found in Christ. ____________________________________________________________ By MISSY ARNESON I get out of bed in the morning because I’m preparing. I go to class because I like to learn, but also because I need to do well in school to reach my goals. I talk to people in the halls because I’m an extravert and it’s good for my mental health, but also because those connections could become networking opportunities down the line. I exercise, which I don’t really enjoy, because I want to be healthier in the future. Very little of what I do is actually for now, even if I enjoy it in the moment — it’s for the future. Hopefully all of this preparation will be worth it. ____________________________________________________________ By J. DYLAN WHITE Every morning I rise out of bed driven by a sense of determination for truth and perfection, which relates to the career path I have chosen for my life in broadcasting and journalism. Inaccuracy and falsehood are problems that I wish to make my mark in reducing in modern media, and I am motivated to promote what is true and good in the world. Through my voice in media, I want to express something that I know to be real and without fault, the love that Christ displays and calls us to model. The spoken and written word are the most effective ways to express emotion to people, and I want to spread goodness in the world. Although young and perhaps naive, I believe that convincing yourself you are too inexperienced to solve a problem is how issues are only exacerbated instead of resolved. As Paul writes in 1 Timothy 4:12, “Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity.” All dreams start small and all dreamers start smaller, but I wake up each morning with the desire for God to use me to start a wildfire that will bring glory to His name. This is my why.
Photo illustration by Austin Worrell
Triston Buckley 
Emily Retzer