Corey and Celtic, there are a few people in NYC who will put up cash for me to play money games. However, they are not interested in sending me to major tournaments. I hope that’s not hard to comprehend.
PhillyViper1 or Vincent Cimarelli I find you to be dishonest and just flat out lie about a lot of things. I find it bad taste that you facetiously congratulate me when I’ve lost a match by saying “Good Shooting” on multiple occasions. I don’t need to attack your character because that is not my thing, but others before have spoken about you including Danny Harriman. However, I refused to expend any more energy responding to your nonsense.
GaryB, thank you.
Satori, I can ask other family for help, but I do not wish to inconvenience them for extended periods of time.
To all critics, I am disappointed in the way that some of you have acted. I understand that pursing pool professionally is a very difficult endeavor. However, if something is difficult, does that mean you don’t try? Or give up before you give yourself a real chance? Should you settle for mediocrity because others have told you to? Or should you settle because many people have told you to? Many of the great feats in this world would have never been achieved if people gave up. Albert Einstein wasn’t able to speak until he was 4 years old and his teachers said he would “never amount to much.” Walt Disney was fired from a newspaper for “lacking imagination” and “having no original ideas.” Michael Jordan was cut from his high school basketball team, yet he became arguably the greatest basketball player ever. These people did not become great by agreeing with their critics.
I wanted to be a great player ever since I started playing pool over 12 years ago. Actually, I wanted to be a top player. But, because of the negative attitude of most people in the pool world, I kept this goal to myself, and did not share it with others. I was told many times that I would never become a good player. I used this negativity to fuel me and become one of the stronger players in NY. But you know what? My goal is still to become a top player, it is no longer a secret, and I am not going to be ashamed of it. Whether or not I receive sufficient sponsorship to attend the Derby City Classic, I am still going to work hard to improve myself and strive to breakthrough to the next level. I understand that it is extremely difficult and the rewards are sparse. However, this is my decision and not anyone else’s. I will be the only person to determine what I am capable and not capable of.
I want to quote Theodore Roosevelt: “The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena; whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, and spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best, knows in the end of the triumph of high achievement; and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither.”
If I fail, it’s okay. Because I tried my best, and that’s all I could do. To me it’s much better than thinking back and wondering whether or not I could have if only I had gave it my all. I still have a lot of passion for this game. I quit my job in August because I felt it was compromising my level of play. If I could afford to, I would not go on the internet and ask for help. However, the Derby is very expensive and I don’t have the funds to get there. I need the competition and I need to be around great players constantly. There are many players who get sponsored, why is there a fuss?