I was recently asked, "How did you end up in college?" It seemed simple enough, but at the time of writing it I had no idea where to start. Who influenced me to stay on track, and how did they do it? My mind was blank, but I have never been a person of many words. The truth is, I've never thought about it too much. Growing up I always had college as my goal, but I've found that what I thought I would become in college and what I'm actually doing in college have turned out to be two completely different things. During high school I joined student government and the high school debate team with the encouragement of my best friend Chace Mickleson. Chace was a boy from the subway, all the boys thought he was gay and all the girls loved him. This guy is the most motivated, positive, articulate guy you will ever meet. We grew up across the street from each other. He lived in a little white house and my family had a house built across the street from his family. He once told me the story of how his parents forced him to come to me and offer to play with me and my brother. He didn't want to, but he would too. Little did we know it would be a lifelong friendship. My choice to join the debate team has undoubtedly changed my focus from sports to academics, something I never imagined myself doing. This was the best and worst choice of my life, I gave up my starting position on the Highland football team, a team I had dreamed of playing for since I was a kid. By doing this I accumulated a 3.6 GPA and spent weekends waking up at 8 a.m. and traveling around Idaho to participate in various debate tournaments. My debate partner, Nichelle Klosterbore, was a genius and I was surrounded by beautiful girls all weekend. Nichell......middle of paper......I once gave credit to God, but I have now become an atheist, 100% convinced that God is not real. But I won't lie that at that moment I believed in God who saved my life. In this difficult time in my life, the thought of God and the hope He provided me saved my life. I'm doing well in school, I'm happy with my life choices and where I'm headed. After all was said and done, I am grateful to the people in my life for putting up with me, providing me with the support I needed to move forward. I hope you can use my story to help motivate you. I wrote it so when you read it you can realize that no matter how messed up things may seem at times, as long as you stay strong everything will work out. I conclude by saying that the only thing that can stop you from getting what you want is yourself. It's cliché, I know, but it's true.