Biography
It Runs in the Family
I jumped onto the bed crying. Disappointment had overcome me. How could they have possibly lost in their first game of the playoffs? The Tennessee Titans, the professional football team located in my hometown of Nashville, Tennessee, finished the regular season with a 13–3 record. This team was the team of destiny. But, when reaching the playoffs in 2008, they suffered a heartbreaking 13–10 loss to the Baltimore Ravens. My emotions had overcome me. At the age of 10, NFL football was my life. Sports were my life. I was on the school football team and basketball team. I played sports whenever I could. I watched Sports Center non-stop on ESPN until I could memorize everything the anchors were saying. I even played sports video games until I got tired of winning so often. My love of sports can be credited to my parents. Every Sunday morning, I would run into my parent’s room and wake my mom up to watch Inside the NFL, an NFL talk show, with me. Then, my parents and I would spend the rest of our Sunday watching NFL games. However, my every growing bond of sports between my parents and me is still going. Every time I come home from school, the first questions my parents ask me usually have to do with the Tennessee Titans or the Nashville Predators, the professional hockey team in Nashville. My parents’ love for sports flowed into me and has created one of the greatest passions I have to this day.
I jumped off the floor and ran onto the stage. My name had been called to join the team at Morgan County Middle School. I was about to meet the people I would do ministry with for the next three years. I was about to forge friendships with people that would last a lifetime. Young Life has been one of the best parts of my college experience to date. With this organization, I get to bring middle school kids in the Greater Athens area face to face with Jesus Christ. Following God has always been a part of my life. I grew up in the church. I went to church ever weekend with my parents because that’s what was expected of us. Some kids who are forced to go to church end up seeing it as a chore. However, I eventually found church and following God to be a passion in my life. I saw how strongly my parents and my grandparents believed in Christianity, and that made me want to pursue my faith even more. That ambition has continued to push me throughout my entire life and now into college. In fact, this passion has directed the course of my college path. I am now in a Christian fraternity, Beta Upsilon Chi, and am now doing Young Life, the aforementioned college ministry. I have decided to take this course in my life because of the values that my family instilled in me from the beginning.
The person I am today would not be possible without my parents, my siblings, and my grandparents. Being the youngest one in my family, I only have people to look up to. They taught me the morals and values that are essential to living a healthy life. Each one of them, whether they know it or not, has instilled a value in me that I have kept and that I will keep for the rest of my life. Not only have the people before me taught me how to live life, but they have taught me how to enjoy life. They have shown me how to find my passions in life, whether that be sports, ministry, or music. My family supports me in whatever I decide to do, and they love me no matter what. I cannot imagine the person I would be without my family being with me along the way. They have all contributed to the person I am today. These traits that run in my family have finally found their way to me.
