Personal Narrative: How Football Changed My Life

Growing up in a house with all boys in Drexel Hill, Pennsylvania, I was taught to be tough and injuries were very common but easily shaken off. When it came to sports, I would put all my time and effort into one thing: soccer. Soccer was always a true passion of mine; as a matter of fact, it was more of a lifestyle than just a sport. I would spend weekends traveling around my local area playing the game I loved with people I enjoyed being with. My teammates became like my second family after countless seasons and we did almost everything together off the soccer field. The idea of putting on my jersey and lacing up my cleats was a moment I would not trade for the world and something I would never take for granted.

''Football.'' Every one loves the game of football. I mean how can you not like football its just so much fun. To play and or watch . It's just so much excitement. Playing football I set a lot of goals . And I also achieved most of those goals. It wasn't the easiest thing to do but its really worth it . The reason I say this because it a workout. Your constantly moving every other second. So its really a good work out for teens. But my goal for football was to make a touchdown every game. The reason I wonted to score every game cause I knew that I was going to get some money every time I score. And another goal I set was to make a tackle every game . It didn't have to be a big tackle just a tackle. That's all I ask for myself every game . I

We packed everything we had into U-Haul in the safety the night provided. In about four hours of continuous packing our roots were lifted. We headed due south to a place called High Island, Texas. I had only been there one time before when I was little. The justifications of why we chose High Island, which was six hours from our home, was one of my aunt’s lived there and the distance from home was great.

Football is a game of passion, a time when nothing else matters and the only thing that matters is going out there having fun and fighting for the guy next to you. Football has always been something that I loved and had a wild passion for. I’ve made friendships and memories to last a life time and I can always be grateful that football did that for me. Now of course I’ve had some bad memories during football as well, I remember walking out of the film room on the last day of spring ball and having Coach Antle grab me and say “Gage, I think I want to try you at a new position, I want to put you at defensive end. We need you more there and we think you can really excel there.” I remember being so furious, I had played linebacker ever since I could remember and now the last day of spring ball my senior year everything was about to change.

My stomach tightened. I had never played free safety before. The ball was snapped, and I watched as the tailback widened out to receive the pitch. Never had I felt such an adrenaline rush.

I was lucky enough to have him by my side for all 17 years of my life that I’ve lived. He’s truly a role model and has been through many obstacles and had to overcome adversity. On January 25th of this year, my mom died in a car accident. She was a diabetic and was under a lot of stress. After dropping my dad off at the hospital for work she had low blood sugar and ended up having a heart attack behind the wheel. That took a toll on me. It was the worst day of my life. I never pictured myself growing up without having both a mom and a dad. It hit me so hard that I didn’t want to go to school again and i was strongly pondering quitting football. My whole football team wanted to be there for me and I’d have to say thats one of the reasons i didn’t quit. The biggest reason i stuck with it is because I knew my mom would want me to. She knows that since i was little i’ve wanted to be a football player so now, i do it in her name. Moments like these in my life have made me the strong, hard working individual that I am right now. Last year, during my junior season in the Spring game I tore my rotator cuff and my labrum on my right shoulder completely. I had surgery and now I am healed and ready to get after it my senior year. So far, I’ve been talking to schools like Illinois, Illinois State, Arkansas State, Central Arkansas, Idaho, Miami, and

As the bells rang out Edgar gleefully said , “ Hurry up James we need to get there in time to be picked, or else we’re gonna be stuck with the nerds out in the field watching!”, as he ran out to the field toward the road where we would be playing tackle football.

I was told that on the day of my birth, the operating room was overcrowded with medical staff, bright

From one week to another I started feeling so much pain in my back I honestly did not know what it was I tended not to pay attention to it that whole week. Until at the end of the week it got to a point where I couldn't move nor stretch that was when I realized my high school soccer career would end. I played soccer as a freshman and as a sophomore I always tried my best I was ready for soccer this time and I had just gotten back from a Europe trip which made me learn new things about soccer. My goal for high school was to be able to play all four years since I had already made the team freshman year.

I never expected my life to turn out this way!! 2020 Darren Clayton enters the NFL draft to contend against top players most teams wanted. I was surprised that I had made it that far.Now imam take you back to my childhood. I was only 10 years old in 2010 I wasn’t really a football lover, I was mostly a basketball fan. I mainly played basketball and watched it more than football. I never played football in my life the only sports I played was basketball and baseball but I never pursued it to the fullest it was just something I would do in the mean time to kill sometime in elementary school and middle school. In middle school I got curious about football so I joined the flag football team and played at an tournament against other people. At the tournament we played three teams, we only won

When I was in middle school my mom always encouraged me to work my hardest

Adaption, moving from one state to another, migrating like a bird but not just for season. Forced to live in a place at never even got to visit. Take the time possibly every two months to see the only family I have. Squeezing in a few minutes to spend time with friends I used to see five days a week. Remodeling my attitude, my whole lifestyle, because my dad received a job offer that doesn't even pay better that is first. Money was tight, making two house payments because no one would purchase our old house, but we needed to move for the start of school. I cried so much the day I left the place I knew as home. I felt as if life was over, forced to wear a mask, act as if I had to be okay with this transition just to make my dad happy.

It was a Friday but not just any normal Friday it was the Bronco’s homecoming game, and that Friday is far from being normal. Everybody looks forward to homecoming, because it is an exciting week to show off their school spirt. The beginning of the week are normal fays but Thursday, Friday, and Saturday are the days when it gets crazy.

over the course of the next summer my sister was born. I got rather frustrated due to getting stuck with babysitting duty. I wanted to be out exploring and playing outside, or in the midst of the neighborhood water wars. enjoying the time we had left before the move but we did what we were told. When I was not babysitting however, my friends and I did manage to have fun almost like the old days, although our thoughts were still heavy with the move coming up and the more we worried the faster it seemed to approach.

That’s how it all started my mother was tired of living the same routine everyday. She one day came across a close friend who was telling her how happy she was to be out of Los Angeles with her new career. A new job was offered to my mother in Coalinga so she agreed. Then, it hit me that we were going to have to move, but I was barely going to enter second grade and even a chance to get the same class with one of my cousins. I couldn’t imagine living 4 hours away from my family. That’s all I had at school my three cousin’s who were my only friends. I remember my mom coming into my room and telling that moving was going to be a better opportunity for us to have a brighter future also, that we were going to get a huge house. But I knew a huge house