2021 TCS Senior Perspective
I remember walking the halls as an ambitious kid looking up to the seniors and thinking that it was a lifetime away that I would be in their shoes. They were so big, so grown, and so close to adulthood, yet young enough to be fun. I especially idolized the basketball players. All I wanted was to be like them one day. I started at Trinity Christian School in the fifth grade. Now eight years later, here I am, graduated and headed off to college. I sit here thinking about that scared little fifth grader who would have given anything just to be acknowledged by an upperclassman. School is full of ups and downs, highs and lows, with endless challenges that sometimes seem impossible to overcome. However, I always had God, family, friends, and basketball to help guide me through the journey.
Basketball has been a fundamental part of my life for as long as I can remember. My father both played and coached college basketball, and my older cousin, whom I glorified, had a very successful career at LSU and went on to the professional level as the number four pick in the 2006 NBA draft. Loving basketball was not just a sport or hobby in my family. It was a lifestyle. I played basketball from preschool to sixth grade in Upward Sports. Even back in middle school, basketball was the one thing that constantly drove me to be a good student. I started playing organized school sports in seventh grade and haven’t looked back since. Like many other students, my passion for an extracurricular activity made my life more enjoyable every day. For some, their passion is band. Other students look forward to photographing every important moment throughout the year for the yearbook committee. For some, the reason they look forward to school each day is a club like coding or robotics. My reason to get up each day was sports. I played soccer, football, basketball, ran track, and cross-country. In so many ways, I feel having an outlet is crucial for kids finding themselves and their individual passions in life.
School is hard. There is no way around that. There are classes, teachers and classmates that will make you question if you’ll be able to make it through the year. For me, it was math. Every year I hated every second spent learning about quadratic equations, formulas, and just about every other aspect of math. However, gym class and after-school practices made me strive to do what I had to do to get through. Some years, I had classes I really enjoyed and excelled in. I also had some amazing teachers who made learning fun. In my high school years, I saw different dynamics in relationships and clashing ideologies that constantly pushed me to question my personal convictions and beliefs. I was challenged daily by certain teachers spiritually, academically, and mentally. Without these constant questions and challenges presented to me by these teachers, I never would have developed into the young man I am today. I was encouraged and enlightened daily not only by teachers and classmates, but by my church family as well. My pastors and church leaders constantly challenged me to seek God and His guidance in every aspect of my life. They taught me how to align my thoughts and my wants with God’s will for my life. Then, I was able to truly give all my stress and burdens to God. This allowed me to focus on overcoming every obstacle and start becoming who He wants me to be.
My senior year especially, was filled with unique challenges and setbacks unlike any I had ever endured. Last summer, I faced many difficult decisions about my future. First, I had to decide which sport was the most important to me. The year before, I played football and basketball. While my athleticism and strength improved by playing both sports, I could physically feel that I was lacking in nearly every other aspect of the game. I decided to stick with basketball only. It was my first love. It turns out I made the right decision when the football season was cut very short because of a school-wide COVID-19 breakout. Basketball season started about a month after but still came along with its own set of challenges. On top of different players having to quarantine and multiple games being cancelled each week, I started Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) school in January. Balancing high school classes in the morning, work and practice in the afternoon and EMT classes and games at night was no simple task. By the time I got home late at night, I was both physically and mentally exhausted. However, my faith in God, love for the game, and overwhelming support from friends and family helped me to push through and complete what I consider the most difficult chapter of my life so far.
My senior year might have come with a lot of challenges, but it also came with quite a few unforgettable moments. Our basketball season was constantly jeopardized on a weekly basis, which brought a whole new meaning to “play every game like it’s your last.” That’s exactly what we did every time we stepped on the court this year. I can’t help but think that this could have been one of the biggest reasons we were so successful this season. On February 27, my team won the HCAA State Championship. After the game, I was overwhelmed with a plethora of emotions. I was glad to go out on top, but I still felt I was not ready to hang up basketball quite yet. It was only after my season that I learned how much college basketball had been affected by COVID. The NCAA granted every college athlete an extra year of eligibility, which directly affected my recruiting class of 2021. On top of this, many COVID protocols and regulations kept college coaches from traveling to watch recruits in person during the season. These same guidelines also prohibited potential recruits from taking official visits and workouts. Nonetheless, I stayed on my grind to keep working and improving.
In May, I graduated from Trinity Christian School and EMT school at UAHT, both in Texarkana, Arkansas. After months of prayer and hard work, I finally began to receive official offers to continue my basketball dreams. After many college visits, camps, and team workouts, I have officially signed with Southern Nazarene University in Bethany, Oklahoma, where I will continue my athletic and academic career at the same school where my parents met 25 years ago and where my dad played basketball. I have also decided to chase my dream of advocacy in social justice with a major in Politics and Law. I am looking forward to seeing what God has in store for me in the future and can’t wait to go wherever He leads me in life.
