After the summer came my sophomore year of college when I began taking my classes even more seriously, trying to soak up every bit of knowledge I could. I was always the kid in the front row taking notes, while others would be on their phones or asleep. My friends never really cared about their grades, but I did. I knew that if I had a good GPA coming out of college as a student-athlete, an employer would recognize that. My desire to make good grades was inspired by the fact that it could help me in the future, but I also wanted to make my mother proud. My mother is an elementary school teacher and takes academics to heart. My GPA coming out of high school was 2.8. This drove my mother crazy because she knew that I could do better, and I did too. All I cared about was hanging out with my friends and winning football games on Friday nights.
One night, in particular, changed the way I felt about my academics and the idea of "taking care of business." It was a Friday night during my senior football season, when I had 2 touchdowns, rushed for 115 yards, and had several big tackles. After the game, I was interviewed by the Cherokee Tribune to talk about my big game, and how I felt about heading into the playoffs with my team. After the game I pulled into my house feeling on top of the world, ready to talk to my parents about the game and my interview with the newspaper. I opened the door with a huge smile on my face, and there stood my mom with a concerned look. Her exact words were, "Hey Bubba, what did you make on that pre-calc test? You better not make a C in that class..." I was upset with the fact that she was more concerned about what I made in my math class than how I performed on the field that night. I was angry at the time, but over the years I have come to realize that times like this shaped me into who I am today.
For my sophomore year, I wanted to do better at everything than I did the year before. My plan was to continue to accelerate on the football field, in the classroom, and take my relationships with people extremely serious. My head football coach would always say, "Everyday is an interview," and I never fully understood this until this point in time. With that said, I treated every day as an interview. I began smiling and saying hello to strangers, using my manners in every encounter with another person and striking up small talk with anybody that I came in contact with for no reason. This was a refreshing way to live life, as someone who usually likes to keep to themselves.
That year I was living off of $50 a week from my parents. They knew that I was doing everything I could to be successful, and so they helped me the best that they could. I knew that $50 a week to live off of was tough, but it did nothing but add fuel to my fire. I knew this was only temporary and that if I stuck to the plan, I would be just fine.
One night, in particular, changed the way I felt about my academics and the idea of "taking care of business." It was a Friday night during my senior football season, when I had 2 touchdowns, rushed for 115 yards, and had several big tackles. After the game, I was interviewed by the Cherokee Tribune to talk about my big game, and how I felt about heading into the playoffs with my team. After the game I pulled into my house feeling on top of the world, ready to talk to my parents about the game and my interview with the newspaper. I opened the door with a huge smile on my face, and there stood my mom with a concerned look. Her exact words were, "Hey Bubba, what did you make on that pre-calc test? You better not make a C in that class..." I was upset with the fact that she was more concerned about what I made in my math class than how I performed on the field that night. I was angry at the time, but over the years I have come to realize that times like this shaped me into who I am today.For my sophomore year, I wanted to do better at everything than I did the year before. My plan was to continue to accelerate on the football field, in the classroom, and take my relationships with people extremely serious. My head football coach would always say, "Everyday is an interview," and I never fully understood this until this point in time. With that said, I treated every day as an interview. I began smiling and saying hello to strangers, using my manners in every encounter with another person and striking up small talk with anybody that I came in contact with for no reason. This was a refreshing way to live life, as someone who usually likes to keep to themselves.
That year I was living off of $50 a week from my parents. They knew that I was doing everything I could to be successful, and so they helped me the best that they could. I knew that $50 a week to live off of was tough, but it did nothing but add fuel to my fire. I knew this was only temporary and that if I stuck to the plan, I would be just fine.
Love the coach's comment, "Every day is an interview." So true.
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