With all my heart and might I attempted to pull myself up, but was left with nothing but failure. Frustrated, embarrassed and disappointed with myself, I kicked the floor and watched the dust slowly fall back down to the ground. I was unable to do a single pull up. Tall, skinny and scrawny is what most would describe me as in my childhood days. My chest was so small that my stomach would pass it. My wrist, forearm, bicep and shoulders all had the same width. Cousins would call me “skin and bones”, and classmates would address me as “skeleton”. Day after day, my confidence along with my self-esteem would go down the drain. I decided to take those remarks and instead of ignore them, use them to my advantage. The discouraging remarks in my head fueled my motivation and hunger to achieve my goals. I took it upon myself and made it my mission to change who I was. Not only did I strive to become stronger physically, but mentally as well. I quickly got into my new routine, devised a schedule and organized a diet that would ultimately help me achieve my goals. Calisthenics became my new obsession. Everyday after school, I would run off the bus and straight to the park I went. The monkey bars were my wake-up call. It was right in front of me all along. All I had to do was put my mind to it. I would not consider it a successful day unless I surpassed the number of repetitions from the day before. I was in competition with no one but myself. Each and every day, I was simply trying to be better than the person I was yesterday. I would push myself, and if I could not perform an exercise I would motivate myself remembering that it is mind over matter. For the first time in my life, I had witnessed something so rare to me- improvement. I witnessed myself get stronger as the days passed and found it hard to believe. Not only were the physical parts of my body improving, but so was my personality. Slowly, I transformed from the quiet and scrawny boy in the corner, to a man who was finally proud of himself. My skin and bones were quickly compacted with well-earned, lean muscle. Social life was no longer foreign to me. I unraveled the code with speaking to girls and was no longer self conscious about myself everywhere I went. No longer was I embarrassed of being the center of attention, but I have learned to embrace it. Monkey bars have taught me that one simply gets out what one gives in. The harder one works, the more pleasurable ones results may be. They taught me I could do anything I put my mind to as long as I am dedicated and committed. My ambition and work ethic stuck with me through out my high school career. I will carry these motivators on the rest of my journey, wherever it may be. I have learned that there is no challenge I am scared to conquer and no obstacle I can not solve. The strongest force in this world is you will and motivation to achieve success. It can make you a millionaire or a world champion body builder. It depends where you chose your powers to guide you, and the powers lay within my hands. I dream big, but work harder. I told myself that I would not continue life with a four inch bicep. Telling is only have the equation, doing is what gets the results. The monkey bars will lead me anywhere I desire.