Ragtime: The Scott Joplin Story

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I recently learned a valuable lesson. When life gives you lemons, make lemonade. Not in the literal term anyway. The meaning is that when you have something of good use, put it to use. I have never put any of my skills to a great use just because I am sometimes lazy. OK, I am always lazy, but still my statement stands. I used to have a tennis racket that I never used; it was just sitting in my garage. Little did I know that it would be the gateway to a great sport. The same situation happened to Scott Joplin, but he used his skill to develop his musical talent rather than tennis. Scott Joplin’s great ragtime music has inspired many people to become musicians. A skill is very valuable, and when put to good use, the results can be very satisfying. Take, for example, my tennis racket that I just let sit in my garage. Then I decided one day that I wanted to play a new sport that was interesting. I tried to think of a sport that needed great strength and fitness. I thought for hours and finally decided to ask my parents. But I decided that asking my mom would be a bad idea because she would probably tell me to play badminton or swimming. So I asked my dad and he told me that tennis is a good active sport. I knew that I had a tennis racket in the garage so my dad took me out to play tennis. Let’s face it, nobody is good at any sport the first time they start playing. I tried to play and the first ball I hit pretty much went over the fence and into the other side of the complex. Then I tried harder, and I started to get them in and then I started to put more power into them, and then they went out. Regardless, I still played and learned that I needed to put angle on the ball instead of just hitting it anywhere on the court. I started to play, and I was very interested because the sport was just a thrill to play. I put effort in it, and now I am winning some tournaments. I

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