| Announcer: Boeing presents another
in a series of essays from contemporary opinion leaders. Today,
world-class athlete and community activist, Jackie Joyner-Kersee.
Jackie: I started running when I was nine years old. But,
I was just another kid running in the park back then with no
real purpose to it. I ran because I could run. Then one day,
I was watching television with one of my coaches, and I got
my first glimpse of world-class athletes in competition. This
was in 1976. I watched every minute of it that I could and
started running for a reason.
All along the way, I’ve had people help me. Good people.
But, my role models were really my parents. They didn’t
have much, but they never let that be an excuse for anything
in life. My dad always used to say, “It’s not what
you got, but how you use it.”
One of the things that I learned in athletics and have carried
with me my whole life is that talent is never enough. You have
to have desire. Desire is what keeps you coming to practice
day in and day out. Desire is what keeps that fire burning
inside. Desire is what makes you use every ounce of talent.
Often when I’m working with the kids in our community
centers in East St. Louis, I see a lot of myself in them. That
nine-year-old girl running circles in the park. So many of
these kids don’t know where they’re going. They’re
just running. I work with them and I tell them to strive to
be a great person. The rest will come.
I suppose for a lot of these kids I’m a role model.
I consider that an honor and a responsibility, and I don’t
take that lightly. The role models that are really overlooked
are the moms, dads, grandpas and grandmas in simple homes all
across America doing the best they can with what they have.
I admire them. They are my heroes.
Announcer: Boeing. Forever New Frontiers.
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