Though I have developed in many ways throughout my first semester in college, the most significant of my developments lies in my growth of an outgoing personality. I am in introvert and had problems communicating when I was younger. I was scared to talk to others I did not know on the phone–I even was nervous to call Dick’s Sporting Goods to check if they had a particular item in stock. I have become more outgoing over time, and had to take a huge step coming here to The Ohio State University. Unlike many of my friends who went to the University of Maryland, I chose to go out of state and attend Ohio State. Only one other student from my graduating class came to Ohio State with me who I didn’t know well. I was forced to make a whole new world of friends as I carried over none of the friends from my hometown in Maryland. I made a few friends at orientation, one of which is from Maryland as well therefore we related a lot, and kept in touch with them. When I got to school in August, I met up with theses friends and met new friends through them. In contrary, my friends who went to Maryland have mainly spent time with each other and have not met many people from outside our high school. I now have a few friend groups here as well as all my friends back home and know many more people compared to my friends back home. I am more than satisfied I went out of state and specifically came here to Ohio State as it has significantly contributed to my development by forcing me out of my comfort zone. I have become more outgoing and made a whole new world of friends as a result.

During high school, I lost my friend Austin Cohen to cancer who was only 16 years old. I first met Austin in middle school, but it wasn’t until we played on the same football team in eighth grade that we became close. He was our best player, I was the quarterback and he was my running back. However, our time playing together was cut short as the news came a couple months after the season that Austin had cancer.  Everyone who knew him was in total shock, including myself. Not only was he my teammate and classmate, but my friend. I had always heard stories of people being diagnosed with cancer, but I always assumed it happened to those who were older — never someone my age. Time passed and Austin got worse. A couple months after being diagnosed his leg was amputated in a failed attempt to stop the spread of cancer through his body. The cancer ended up spreading to his lungs and eventually his brain. The doctors knew he was going to die. Austin passed on May 5, 2017 during our junior year of high school. When I heard the devastating news of Austin’s passing I broke down crying in class. I was in denial. Even though I hated to admit it I knew it was inevitable yet it still didn’t feel real. I was awash with emotion on my way to my next class. My peers tried to console me in the hallway with little success. All I could think about was how I would never be able to see Austin again and also how Austin never got the chance to play football again — a game he loved so much. We were never able to play together again after that one single season. Many wondered why the news of Austin’s passing hit me so hard at the time because to tell the truth, I had not been significantly close with Austin. I had the good fortune of having first period with him the first semester of our junior year where we joked and talked but beyond that we never made plans outside of school. I’ll never forget the night before my state championship football game Austin went out of his way to text me, wishing me good luck even though he had surgery the next morning, but that didn’t stop him from coming to the game to cheer us on that night. I never once went out of my way to visit Austin in the hospital, or even text him. That’s what hit me so hard about his passing, the regret. There was nothing I could do now that he was gone; nothing but wish we had spent more time together. I remember our freshman year Austin told me how excited he was to play football the following season.  He was so hopeful and poured his heart into everything he loved – especially football. There have been many times my teammates and I have dreaded going to practices and workouts, but now I realize Austin would have given anything to be in our place and we were taking it for granted. In the end, Austin taught me to never take anything in life for granted whether it’s being able to run out on the football field under the lights on a Friday night, being able to see my friends and family, or simply having the strength to get out of bed in the morning. Most of all, I learned the importance of being there for a friend and doing for them what they would have done for you.

Throughout my life I have played football, including in high school for my school’s state renowned team. I played the position of quarterback and as a freshman was set to start on varsity my junior year after our current quarterback graduated. My freshman year I started at quarterback on the junior varsity team and was moved up to varsity at the end of the season in preparation of the years to come. However, after the season we had a quarterback in my grade transfer from private school who would go on to receive a full scholarship to play football at Air Force and Dartmouth. The next season he took the varsity quarterback’s starting job who quit almost immediately after. Unlike him, I stuck with the football program and continued to play quarterback and started again my next season on junior varsity while partially serving as the backup on varsity. The season after I accepted my new role and served as his backup all season and was able to play in the state championship game that year after he got injured. The following season, my senior year, I accepted another role change to defense as a safety as I was made to give up my backup spot to another quarterback the grade below me who the coaches wanted to groom since he would likely start the next year after we both graduated. Despite the whole frustrating situation, I became great friends with the transfer. Although the experience was an unfortunate one, it was key in my development as I developed resilience and dedication. During the process, even the head coach noted such as one day he pulled me aside in the weight room and told me how lucky they were to have me in the program as people in the past had not handled such situations nearly as well, referring to the original starting quarterback on varsity. This experience demonstrated my ability to adapt to any role needed of me for the good of a team through my willingness to adapt to a backup role, especially considering I had been a starter my whole football career.

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