What You Gonna Do for It?
There's emotion and determination in the blood, sweat, and tears that circulate around the game. My heart races from the excitement of lacing cleats, the familiar feel of my shoulder pads and weight of my helmet sends my adrenaline through the roof as the smell of the grass on the field overwhelms my olfactory. As far as my father's side of the family, sports are like second nature to them. It's the summer of 2012, and I'm running around the backyard sprinting to the other side while evading the "opponents" that I had created with various large objects and screaming "Touchdown!" As I leap between two cones and boasting to my audience who were two puppies drooling to munch on my oversized Jacksonville Jaguars jersey. When I see the bright smiles on their faces and how enthusiastic they would get, football only became more and more of a passion for me. Seeing my older brother getting asked to be a member of various collegiate teams at various levels solidified the idea that this was what I wanted for myself.  
Throughout my years in school, I was always in good standing with everyone... any type of person you could think of, the "clout heads", the "geeks", the "jocks", you name 'em. My personality type is one that can make fit with any community, but I chose to remain reserved and move along my way silently, but versatile, to everyone that I have associated with, rather than delve into one community where I felt "heard". Even though I could have joined whatever group that seemed smart or popular to join, I never really decided to follow through with it, for the fact that I was okay with floating alone and just being affiliated with a little bit of everything. Aside from that, I didn’t look toward any silly clique, society or clan as something for me to call a place where I have a voice. 
The community of football is one that can be thought of as a group of people that all have such a burning passion for more than only the sport, but also what this football means to them and history behind the sport. My connection to football branched off of my older brother to me. I saw and felt the brotherhood and how, for some of us, it was more than just a game—this was their life. Whenever I or my sibling wanted to just get away from life, we could depend on this magical sport to be our scapegoat. It amazes me that this one thing in common between me, my family and my teammates sets such a strong foundation in terms of our relationship. My love for football had already been established prior to me joining a team or watching the pros on the big screen, because what I loved about the game is the experiences I have had and the bonds that I have been able to create 
As time elapsed on that summer day in 2012, I was showing off in front of the pups, the day, my eyes lit up as my ears caught the tunes created by the whirring exhaust of our truck. He’s home from practice. I had been waiting on mother coming from the grocery store, alongside my brother to come home from practice, wreaking of intense work on the field. She always has the upmost support when it comes to her children, and her energy could emit light onto even the darkest of days. Mother’s eyes looked something like two beached pearls casting the sun’s reflection. 
After entering the house, I noticed an unfamiliar smirk stuck onto my brother’s face since arriving home. I just concluded my conspiracy as him acting weird to be funny. I advised him to run into the shower. He then decided to show me an envelope that I assumed had the world's funniest joke in. I opened the envelope and my eyes scanned the document inside. 
The letter read: 
CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR ACCEPTANCE TO SSU. DUE TO YOUR OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE ON THE FIELD AND YOUR SUCCESS IN THE CLASSROOM WE ARE HAPPY TO OFFER YOU A FULL SCHOLARSHIP TO REPRESENT OUR UNIVERISTY AND CONTINUE YOUR PATH TO SUCCESS AS A PART OF US. 
-GO TIGERS! 
In the neighborhood, the only way out and to better things for a vast majority is sports. Where I'm from, you can see the definition of "ball is life"; you can't turn your head without seeing Larry down in the yard tossing around weights or my cousins bulldozing each other in an attempt to recover a fumbled football...these are only a few examples of what goes down in the city. Here, all my peers idolize athletes and once you get an offer or get recruited by a college team, you’ve made it.  
Within the next year, I found myself on my high school football team. It wasn’t entirely because that was the route that he went, because I always had a thing for playing ball myself. When I am on the field with my teammates, I realize that I do feel heard; not just in terms of a play, but even after we unequip our gear after practice. Those lil' bonds; the tussling around, heart-to heart talks shared between teammates is deeper than football—the sport itself is cause for the establishment and solidification of friendships between teammates, but what keeps that bond tight is us coming together as brothers and becoming the support unit that everyone needs once in a while. Teammates listen in order to understand one another, on top of building chemistry, and both lead to improvement in mental health as well as performance. 
It took this moment for me to realize that I could do the same thing. That one paper with words of black ink were not just any words. Letters are essentially a contract for football players who wish to further their career, and this is a lifelong goal for student athletes up to senior year. My brother's success in football sparked major influence in my decision making in terms of joining the community of football, not to mention that this was what I grew up around. That being said, you could suggest that my hunger for success is a collateral effect of it and created a stamp in the mold of myself.