The Perfect Compound by Colin Kowalski

Throughout my life, I find myself cherishing many of the things that I do. From enjoying times with friends to immersing myself in new environments, I find myself in a consistent pattern in what brings me joy and makes me me. While there are so many little things that bring me random happiness, I can concentrate most of what's important to me into three main pillars that constitute a "Happy Colin." These three simple elements - family, baseball, and giving back - combine in just the right way that makes it the "perfect compound" for me.
The first element of this compound, and the most important, is my family. My family is my core. While it's hard to explain, it's like the air I breathe - I can't exist without it. Of course, I can write about the cliche that they are there for me and that they support me and that they love me. While that's true, there's something else that just makes them the most important people to me. They are the only people who when I'm around them, I can just be me.
The second element of my perfect compound is baseball. Baseball is my happy place, my sanity. I grew up on the diamond and it's still the place where I go where I can be a part of a team and still have my own individual moments and identity. Baseball for me is the greatest teacher, not just of athleticism, but of composure and life lessons. In a way, it is an athletic chess match, with both sides planning and strategizing ways to outsmart the other team. Baseball is a place where I am able to apply my intelligence and combine it with my sport.
The final element of my compound, and the one that ties it all together (Like the oxygen in water or the carbon in carbon dioxide), is giving back. My desire to give back first started when I travelled to India when I was four years old, and I couldn't fathom why all of the kids walking on the street weren't wearing any clothes. When it occurred to me not just that this happens, but that it happens so close to home for me (my grandparents used to live right around the block from where I saw this), a desire was created within me to help people that were less fortunate than me. When I do this, by either volunteering at a local event or raising sports equipment to donate to unfortunate children in our area, I feel fulfilled and satisfied, like a part of me was completed.
My perfect compound couldn't exist without any of the three elements or the environment I'm in - my friends, my school, and my heritage - but these are the three things I hold dearest and the three things I find most important in my life.