Maria Sharapova Essay

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Be it through television, radio, or toys, we are a product of our childhood. The things we experience as children daily have an enormous, impressionable impact on our lives. For me, childhood wasn’t a typical cookie-cutter situation. For me, the character that stuck with me the most during my childhood wasn’t a toy or television character; it was a tennis player by the name of Maria Sharapova. To understand my––for lack of a better word––obsession, let’s set the scene. It’s been approximately a year since my mother and I moved to the United States. It’s the first week of school and I still have no idea what I’m doing. With my flawed English and lunchbox in hand, I make my way back home from the bus stop after a tough day of first grade math. I walk into my parents’ apartment to the biggest shock of my young childhood––my dad, sitting on the couch, watching television. The television, may I clarify, had essentially become mine. Day after day, my diminutive, worriless self would camp out in front of the television watching endless reruns of the Loony Tunes. Due to my stepfather’s insistence on watching tennis, I was forced to sit down and watch the 2006 US Open instead.
At first, my sentiment was one of general annoyance––I
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After persuading her parents of her innate ability, Sharapova’s prowess in the sport at such a young age convinced her parents to travel––yet again––to Moscow for a youth tennis clinic. Sharapova’s attendance at this clinic proved vital to her growth as a professional. It was at this tennis clinic that the young Siberian caught the eye of the Czech tennis superstar, Martina Navratilova. Navratilova, impressed by Sharapova’s skill, convinced the parents of the young girl to seek out the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy in Bradenton,

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