July 20, 2012, was a day that will be remembered forever in history.
Right here in my backyard, 58 people were injured and 12 innocent lives were taken by the carelessness of one man. And not in a million years would I have thought that I would be one of those 58 injured people. But I was.
I was shot on the left side of my neck, and my life changed forever. Who knows where to go when something like this happens?
I went straight to practice the next day. That's where I wanted to be and needed to be the most. With my senior year coming to a start and a highly anticipated football season at hand, I had to move on.
It was tough; with the flashbacks, constant publicity and newly changed identity, I was put into a position where most would crumble and give up.
I was a leader and a fighter; the Gateway Olympians program made me into that. It's all mental, and getting back to football and school as well as great support from the community really eased the stress.
I could go on and on about how I overcame this tragedy, but the one thing that got me through this was just acceptance. Accepting the fact that I had been shot and there was nothing I could do to change it, nothing I could say that would change that.
There is a scar on my neck forever, but that does not define who I am, nor will it ever.
I am a Division I football scholar student-athlete to Colorado State University, a two-time state champion in the discus as well as many more titles in athletics. I am an honor roll student and a member of Gateway Student Council. These are the things that represent who I am, and what I have worked so hard to have the honor to say I have accomplished.
Most important, I am an Olympian; they have raised me and turned me into the person I am today. I am a survivor and I have the rest of my life ahead of me and I plan to make the most of it, and not let anything especially the events of July 20 stop me from going where I want to go and being who I want to be.
"It's not about how many times you get knocked down. It's how many times you get back up."