If you’ve been living under a rock lately and haven’t yet heard the name Bryce Harper, get accustomed to it because you’re going to be hearing it a lot over the next year.

Harper is the 16-year-old Las Vegas High School baseball player who graced the cover of a recent Sports Illustrated with the words “Chosen One” written besides his photo. This season, he’s batted .626 with 14 home runs and 55 RBIs. In 2008, he batted .590 with 11 home runs and 67 RBIs in 38 games for LVHS.

He’s being hyped as the best amateur baseball player at his age since Alex Rodriguez turned heads at Miami’s Westminster Christian High School. And thanks to his decision to skip his junior and senior year of high school by taking a GED test that will allow him to enroll in community college, Harper could be eligible for the 2010 MLB Draft.

There is a wide range of opinions that have surfaced in wake of Harper’s decision to skip his final two years of high school. Some think he’s making a mockery of our educational system and that he needs to concentrate on getting his high school diploma above everything else. Others believe that since he has a gift, he and his parents should do everything possible to make sure he reaches his full potential on the baseball diamond and have nothing hold him back.

Personally, I’m on both sides of the fence here. I actually feel bad for Harper in a way, because he’s going to have to grow up in a hurry. Instead of partaking in his senior prom, pep rallies and everything else that comes with the ups and downs of high school, he’ll be dealing with the pressures of becoming a professional baseball player and everything that comes with being an athlete.

On the flip side, he’ll get the opportunity to make millions of dollars for playing the game he loves and be a part of a baseball fraternity that only a very few can be a part of. He’s going to have the opportunity to do something extraordinary in his life and that’s incredibly hard to pass up.

It’s safe to assume that this wasn’t a rushed decision on the part of Harper or his family. And in the end, you have to make the right decision for you and you alone. Others are going to try and force their opinions and beliefs on you and make you question whether or not you’re making the right decision. But as far as we all know, we only get one life and I’d rather make my own decisions than have someone who isn’t in my shoes say what’s best for me. And that’s what Harper is essentially doing, although at only 16, hopefully his parents are helping him make the right choice because he still is only a kid. (How many of us knew what the hell was best for us at 16?)

There’s no guarantee that Harper won’t fall flat on his face if he is drafted next season. But then again, there are no guarantees in life either. I hope he succeeds in baseball and better yet, continues his education so that when his playing days are over, he can contribute more to society than just hitting home runs.