My story starts in my sophomore year of High School. I had talked to my parents about my need to join a sport to stay in good shape, and they had both recommended cross country. I chose to try it for a day. I hated it. I really didn't like running; it was painful. I had to push myself to keep up; worst of all, it was hard. I still decided to do it, but not for the right reasons. A cute girl was in the club, and all the guys were cool. I also imagined that it would get easier after each practice. Boy, was I wrong! Every day was rough, and I wasn't getting any faster. I still remember my first couple of races. I was getting followed by a bike or a tractor, as I was last in the race. Stuff like that really destroys your ego. That being said, the only way I could go now was up. In reality, up wasn't very impressive. For my entire high school career, I would continue to struggle with the mental barrier I had set of going sub 30. Every race, I would push myself as much as possible, and I would be among the last ones to finish every time. I hated that feeling so much. I hated the back, being told a good job when I didn't do well, and this feeling of uselessness. 

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During cross-country season, I got introduced to the gym, and I was just as bad in the gym. At the time, I was 180 pounds, 6 foot, and I remember lifting as much as a friend who was 130 pounds, 5 foot 4. Needless to say, that was another humbling experience. Thankfully, I stuck to it. I was dedicated, and I made sure I would go every weekday. I would go after club meetings and after cross-country practice. I was almost always the last one out, but I didn't have much to show the work I was putting in. At the time, I didn't know how to build muscle, the importance of sleep, and that hydration was essential.

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I graduated High School in 2020. I remember being excited about going to Clemson the next year. I was motivated to fix my life up, and to start working on achieving my goals. However, when it came around, I was completely lost. I was an introverted kid who didn't know how to talk to people. I often returned to my room and played video games or watched TV. I was hungry for more but didn't know what to do.

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Then came the turning point in my life. My internship at Southwestern Advantage during the summer of 2021. It was the hardest thing I could do, and I was beyond excited. My mentor for the program, Jacob Flores, talked about all of this self-growth I could achieve, and I was practically drooling. I could be challenged, make money, and learn sales skills simultaneously. It was exactly that. Southwestern Advantage was, without a doubt, the hardest thing I have ever done. It was 80 hours a week of going door to door in a brand-new state (Louisiana). The funny thing is that I was pretty awful at the start. I was learning a lot but couldn't seem to get sales. I hated that, too. I wanted to be at the top of the group. I wanted to be the best. What I lacked was mental fortitude. I was letting the no's get to me, and it was affecting my day. Then, one day, I learned about self-talk. This was supposed to be the magic cure. If I was feeling bad about a no, all I had to do was acknowledge it and then remind myself why I was doing this. And guess what? It worked. I probably looked like a crazy person, talking to myself in the car about how I could do it. "This is the time, and I am the person who can do anything." I still say this to this day. I ended that summer in 98th place out of 1800+ interns, but I can't say I was that happy. I still wanted more. I was hungry.

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Thanks to Southwestern Advantage, I learned some skills that would revolutionize my life in college. The first one was to have a schedule and to protect it. I loved my schedule and still love it today. I no longer have to think about my next move. It's always go, go, go now. The other skill I learned was the power of time and work. When you've worked 80 hours a week, school seems like nothing. I felt like there wasn't enough for me to do. So, I decided to start to focus on learning other things. At this time, I began learning about logo and website design. I would spend a lot of time learning anything I could. Most of all, I would do what I could to apply what I learned in a professional sense. I practiced what I could and applied it to freelancing and entrepreneurial work. Sadly, after a while, I lost my momentum and began to focus on other less important things.

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Fast forward to fall 2022. I had just finished an internship, had a good month-long break, and was ready to focus on myself during my time in France. During that semester, I worked out harder than ever before and was beginning to become really happy about where I was physically. This was also the same time where I learned to be completely comfortable being alone and how to say no to things I didn't want to do. I could now focus on what I wanted to do and eliminate the things that didn't matter to me. 

 

At the end of that semester, I got some big news. My counselor told me that I could graduate early, and after looking into it, I found out I could graduate a whole year early. This changed everything. It meant that I only had one semester to be work-ready, and work-ready for me meant having the habits necessary to be successful.

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So, come spring 2023, I have developed a lifestyle that would allow me to achieve my goals. I essentially made a schedule that mirrors a working schedule. I would wake up at 5, work out from 5:30-6:30, go home, and get ready. By 7:45, I am in the library ready to start working. I would do what I could work-wise, relax afterward, and get to bed by 9. All while doing this, I would focus on my goals and remind myself why my work mattered. I live this life now, and I protect my schedule very carefully. I protect it because it allows me to grow, and I am confident that that growth will be the key to my success.

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