Chasing Dreams PT.8

Being home from Iowa felt pretty weird. I was without school for one and wasn’t always with my good friend Tevin Clinkscales. Despite him being in Chicago, Illinois and me being in Texas we would always stay in contact with one another. We would discuss his brother who was at that time a HIGHLY recruited defensive tackle out of a Junior College in Kansas called Dodge City Community college. He ended up with over 40 division 1 offers to schools like Alabama, Ohio State, Miami, Nebraska, and Kansas State. He ended up committing to Kansas State and going pro after his years at Kansas State. I and Tevin wanted that exposure for ourselves so we dished out our information to top junior colleges in the nation. I was in contact with a school in Arkansas who offered me a partial scholarship to play at their junior college. I was all in to go but my William Penn wouldn’t release my transcripts because I owed them money. But the wait wasn’t I on a full scholarship at the start of the season? Well not according to finical aid who said I was never given a full scholarship to the school for football. I contacted the coaches and the athletic department who would never get back to me about the issue. I owed 3,000 to the school which I or my parents didn’t have. All that was left to do was to hustle on the streets to pay this school off to get my transcripts.

So here I was again on the streets selling drugs and back at the trap house where I almost got killed at. All I wanted to do was play football and would do anything and everything to get what I wanted. My drive and ambition were what kept me going. Yeah, it was my dream to play but that didn’t really hit me until later on. Anyways I was out on the streets hanging with gang members and doing stuff I shouldn’t have done. But going through stuff like that is what made me who I am today. Anyways I was making ALOT of money while doing what I was doing and finally had the money to pay off the debt I owed William Penn in Iowa. But for some reason I kept hustling on the streets. Gang members, friends, and family would tell me I was bigger than just selling dope on the streets. That I should be pursuing my dream and goals. I knew what I was capable of doing but I was just distracted by the street life. I have seen the streets change people and take lives of people I loved and one knew. What hit me the most was the day my cousin came home from prison. His reputation as a gang member in San Antonio is pretty high. I can’t even go around saying I’m related to him because I would lose my life. He grew up in the street life and that’s all he knows.

I can remember like it was yesterday. I was sleeping and awoke to the doorbell ringing. I run downstairs to find two policemen at my front door. I open the door and the cop says “ Do you know ho this.” It was a wanted picture of my cousin who was wanted for murder. The two cops come in followed by 5 other cops who searched my mom’s house. My mom lived in the suburbs and the look of 7 cops coming in your house by neighbors doesn’t look well. That whole experience changed everything for me. I put down the drugs and fought for what I wanted in life. Got a job and made a plan to be in school for the 2015–2016 school year. Aside from that my relationship with God became so strong. I grew and I grew closer to him each day which made me open my eyes to a lot of things. I became more mature and serious about chasing my dream. Soon I realized that it wasn’t a dream anymore but more as my destiny. Everything I was put through was to prepare me for what I was striving for.

Once I had my life together and was in a better place it was time to send out film to college. I didn’t care what division it was, whether it was D-1, D-2, D-3, or NAIA. I just wanted to make an impact on the team, school, and people around me. Most of all to chase my dream and never give up until I have it secure. Emails after emails and calls and calls it finally came down to three schools. A D2 in Texas, a D1AA in Texas, and a small D3 in Oregon named George Fox. My decision would be deeper than just worrying about the exposure of a school…

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