IanMifsud

Mrs.Gardner
English/Period6
26January2016
KeepYourEyesontheBall
Remember,keepyoureyesontheball!someoneshouted,mostlikelymycoach.My
twelveyearoldeyespeereduncertainlyatthepitcherasIsteppedintothebattersbox.Itwas
myfirstLittleLeagueatbat,andmyconfidencewasdroppingeverypassingsecond.Igingerly
assumedmyveryimperfectbattingstancemodeledafterBusterPoseys.Isawthepitchercome
setandgulpedasthefirstpitchcame.Strikeone!shriekedtheprepubescentteenservingasthe
umpire.Ididn'tevenseethepitch,hadmyeyesdeceivedme?Iheardmycoachholleroutsome
moreadvicefromthethirdbasecoachingbox.Itwasallthesametome:Useyoureyes!Watch
theballallthewayin!Letyoureyesguideyourswing!Isteppedbackintotheboxwideeyed
hopingIwouldgetaglimpseofthebaseballthistimearound.Play!squeakedtheump.The
pitcherrearedandfiredanotherfastballwhichIthoughtIsawfromthemomentitlefthishand.I
lostsightoftheballasitpickedupspeed,luckilyitwastoofarofftheplateandIletitgofora
ball.Threepitcheslater,thecountwasfullat32,adrenalinefilledmyentirebody.
Thisisit
,I
thought,
it'sfullcountinyourfirstatbatever.Thisisthetimewhereyouseethenextpitch
instantly,crushit,andwatchitsailovertheleftfieldfence...justlikeBusterPosey.
With
newfoundconfidence,Istoodreadyformymomenttocome.Thehurlercameset,lookedto
secondbase,woundup,andunleashedhisthirdfastballoftheatbat.Iheldmybreath,loaded
up,imaginedtheballflyingintoLucchesiPark,thenswungharderthanIeverhadbefore.I

missed,byamile.WatchtheballIan!You'llgetemnexttime!Itrudgedintothedugoutwith
myheaddown.
SomeBusterPoseyyouare.Youcantevenseethebaseball.

Timetostartusing
youreyes.
Theysaythatyoureyesarethewindowstoyoursoul,thatdayIdiscoveredmysoul
wasblind.

MerriamWebsterdefinestheeyeasaspecializedlightsensitivesensorystructureofanimals
thatinnearlyallvertebrates,mostarthropods,andsomemollusksistheimageformingorganof
sightespecially:thenearlysphericalusuallypairedholloworganofsightinvertebratesthatis
filledwithajellylikematerial,islinedwithaphotosensitiveretina,andislodgedinabonyorbit
intheskull.WebMDstatesthattheeyeisaslightlyasymmetricalglobeaboutaninchin
diameter,andthatitismadeupoftheiris,thecornea,thepupil,thesclera,andtheconjunctiva.
Eachparthasitsownimportantpurpose:theirisgivesoureyecolor,thecorneaprotectstheiris,
thepupilletslight(andbaseballs)in,thescleraalsoknownasthewhitesofyoureyesprovides
heavyprotectionandattachmenttoextraocularmuscles,andtheconjunctivaactsasacoverfor
everythingexcepttheirisandpupil,whicharealreadycoveredbythecornea.Recently,
scientistshavediscoveredthatthepatternsfoundintheirisarelinkedtothepersonscharacter
traits.Forexample,individualswithdenselypackedcryptsarewarmheartedandgentle,andthat
individualswithmanycontractionfurrowsaremoreimpulsiveandlikelytogivewayto
cravings,(SpiritScienceandMetaphysics).Youreyesarethewindowstoyoursoul,andthanks
tothesecrystalclearfindings,wecanconcludethatthisinsightistrue.
Eyesarelinkedtoreligionandancienthistoryinnumerousmanners.Forexample,theancient
EgyptiansbelievedthatthesunandmoonweretheeyesofthegodHorus.InChristianity,itis
believedthatthedevilentersonesmindandsoulthroughtheeyes.InBuddhism,theBuddhais

portrayedwithlarge,piercingeyesrepresentingomniscience.InIslam,itissaidthata
malevolentspiritcanplaceanevileyeorcurseonapersoncausingthemtobeviolentlyilland
toexperiencemisfortuneineveryaspectoflife,requiringanexorcismtobecured.Thereare
severalmoreaccountsoftheeyesimportanceinmythologyandinnearlyeveryreligion,in
someithasabenevolentmeaning,andinothers,amalevolentmeaning.Inmypersonal
experiences,eyeshavehadseveraldifferentmeanings:whenIamdoingartwork,theeyeson
anypersonalwaysarethehardesttogetjustrighthowtheeyesaredrawncandrastically
changeaportraitsoverallappearancewhileplayingfootball,staringyouropponentdownon
thelinecanbeincrediblyintimidating,(especiallyifthestareisfollowedbyabonerattlinghit)
andmostnotablyinbaseball,handeyecoordinationisabsolutelyeverything(little
twelveyearoldIanwasdefinitelylackinginthisarea).
Theeyeshavesymbolicsignificanceinsocietytoday,mostnotablyineyecolor.Myirises
havealightbrownhuemeaningIamconfident,determined,andpositive(ShreyaSamant).
ThesearealltraitswhichIpossess,andarearguablymymostprominentqualities.Ihavealways
beenconfidentenoughinmyself,notconfidenttothepointwhereIamcockyornarcissistic,nor
underconfidenttothepointwhereIaminsecure.Mydeterminationhasalwaysbeenselfevident,
mostprominentlyintheclassroomandonthefootballandbaseballfield.WheneverIcome
facetoface(oreyetoeye)withadversity,Istrivetoovercomeitandtostaypositiveinthe
process.
Threeyearsaftermyprestigiousfirstatbatstrikeout,Ihadcontinuedtoplaybaseballandwas
enteringatwomenontwomenoutsituationinthelastinning.ThescorewaswastiedasI
steppeduptotheplate.Ilookedtomycoachatthethirdbaseboxasusual,henoddedandsaid,

Youknowwhattodo.
Watchthatbaseball.
Ithought,
Donttakeyoureyesoffofitfora
second.
Isteppeduptotheplateandstaredintothepitcherseyes.AshepeeredoverhisgloveI
noticedhowdeepbluetheywereincontrasttomybrowneyes.Hehadablank,focused
expressionwhichIreturned.Ichewedmygumandraisedmybatashestartedhiswindup.
Its
nowornever.
Isawtheballfromthemomentitlefthisfingers,Isawhowtheredseamsrotated
astheballcamecloserandclosertomyhungrybat.Iconnected,anddidn'tmissapieceofthat
baseball.Iwatcheditsailintoleftfield,climbinghigherandhigherintothesummersky.
Finally,
finallyit'shappening.It'sgottobeahomer.
AsIspedaroundsecondbaseIhadnodoubtinmy
mindthatIwouldbecrossinghomeplate.AstherelaycameinIwascrossingthirdbase,
Its
goingtobeacloseone.
Thethrowpassedupthecatcherbuttheblueeyedpitchercaughtitfrom
behindhomeplate.Ilookedhimstraightintheeye,accelerated,andhitthedirtinanattemptto
beathimtotheplate.Ifeltthetagonmybackandmyhandonhomeplatesimultaneously.
Safe!Aprepubescentvoiceshrieked.

WorksCited
1. Buddhaeyes.ReligionFacts.com.10Nov.2015.Web.Accessed25Jan.2016.
2. "EyeofGodSymbol."EyeofGodSymbolReligionFacts.N.p.,n.d.Web.25Jan
3. "IslamicExorcism."EvilEyeAccordingtoIslam,Symptoms,CureandTreatment.N.p.,
2007.Web.25Nov.2016.
4. Samant,Shreya."DifferentEyeColorsAndWhatTheySayAboutYouListovative."
Listovative.N.p.,25June2014.Web.25Jan.2016.
5."TheEyes(HumanAnatomy):Diagram,OpticNerve,Iris,Cornea,Pupil,&More."
WebMD.WebMD,n.d.Web.25Jan.2016.