BY GWEN SMITH-DARNELL
      Contributor
      Each of us is on our own journey in life. We are each unique. There are no two people exactly alike. No one knows what tomorrow may bring. There will be seasons of hardships, growth and happiness, we each will face, but it is how we live through each season, that will ultimately become our legacy, and the story that we tell.
      Dave Dravecky, a Boardman native, was guest speaker at the Mahoning County Bar Association Speaker Series, held at the DeYor PAC on Oct. 15. He is a 1974 graduate of Boardman High School and a graduate of Youngstown State University.
      Dravecky shared his life story from the time he was a left handed pitcher pitching for the San Diego Padres (1982-87) and the San Francisco Giants (1987-89). While in the Major League, he earned laurels as an All-Star in 1983, and played in the 1984 World Series with the Padres.
      In September, 1988 he was diagnosed with a cancerous deltoid tumor in his left arm. He underwent surgery and made his comeback in 1989 while pitching for the San Francisco Giants. In his second start against Montreal, he threw a pitch in the sixth inning and broke his left arm. Dave’s cancer had returned and in 1991 he had his left arm amputated.
      Dravecky spoke of his journey, the good, the bad and the ugly. He gave insight into how he overcame the many struggles he faced during his journey after losing his left arm---on the baseball field, for choices he had made, challenges of being without an arm, his identity, dealing with depression, anxiety, anger, fear and worry. Human emotions that we can all relate to.
      Dave recalled receiving a box in the mail containing a baseball. Enclosed was a letter explaining that this was the last baseball he ever pitched in Montreal, mailed to him 25 years after that last pitch.
      He carries that baseball with him always because it reminds him of the spectacular memories in his life that have brought him to where he is today.
      Dravecky explained how the past is so important to our present, for it tells ‘our’ story. We learn and grow from our past, holding onto the good things and asking for forgiveness for the bad things and then continue to move forward.
      Through it all Dave shared what he has learned---that you don’t quit when it gets tough. You realize that you can’t live life alone, that we need each other. Your worth isn’t measured in what you do, but it’s in who you are. You are a masterpiece uniquely created by God and those around you are also God’s masterpieces. We should acknowledge and respect each other, Dravecky said.
      He highlighted the importance of his teammate---Never forget the value of your teammates or the friendships you form. It’s a bond that makes you go out and play for something bigger than yourself. Treat everyone the same and with respect. Remember to just keep being you.
      “Always do your very best,” the former Major League twirler said.
      Nic Goodwin, a catcher on YSU’s current baseball roster, asked Dave, what is one piece of advice he would give to a baseball player?
      “One piece of advice. I can never do just one, but I will give you two. It’s really easy. I would encourage you if you haven’t read this book (picks up the Bible) read it!” He also encouraged the YSU team to read the book called Inner Excellence by Jim Murphy.
      He continued, “Not only for you guys (on the Youngstown State baseball team), but everyone hear this---your goal is not to win. Do you understand what your purpose is? To come and go, every day, striving to be the best version of yourself!
      “What is the best version of you? Off the field? When you’re in the gym, when you’re in practice? Are you giving it everything you can? Are you talking to your coaches…. Are you asking them to give you more work? Do you look at your failures and say, these aren’t failures, that you just had an opportunity to learn? My encouragement to you, is to stay in the process, become the best version of yourself, then watch what happens. That’s it.’
      Dravecky and his wife, Jan, are followers of Jesus Christ. ‘Without Him, they learned through his story, he is nothing.’ One of their favorite verses in the Bible is Ephesians 2:8-10 that we are His masterpiece, created in Christ Jesus to do works that God created in advance for us to do.
      Dravecky finds himself in an incredible place, on an amazing journey, that isn’t over.
      He and his wife founded endurance.org, 33 years ago, because so many people were there for them during their journey, that they wanted to give something back.
      “The sum you get out of life, is from what you give. So many things happen when we become generous,” Dravecky said.
      In his closing Dravecky said he is on the pursuit of living life unoffendable, unashamed, and unirritable.
      “I want to be reminded to place value on my worth, walking wherever you want me to walk, I saw my dream give birth. But dreams don’t always last through life, in fact they often are denied. The day I watched my dream pass on – all alone stood I. And in the searching of my soul, God has given me a new peace. Today I’m living other dreams, the kind that will not cease. In Jesus’s eyes I’m so grateful for the world He has given me, because I know my worth is not in what I do, it’s in Christ’s death for me.”