Chapter 17
Semester Two:
“Its in the distance”
May 2013
It was around this time last year that the so called “senioritis”
was beginning to sink in. I was ready to graduate, leave everything behind, and
simply I wanted to start fresh. If you can recall, or maybe you are
experiencing it at the moment, “senioritis” gives you an enormous amount of
laziness. During the final stretch of my senior year I was having a blast, as I
am sure most of you did. The reason for reminiscing is because in a matter of
one year, you will find that using the ole “senioritis” trick, doesn’t work
well with college professors. I realize I am not a senior anymore, but for some
odd reason I had the same “senioritis” feeling. Maybe it was the 20 hour load
that was finally beginning to put a toll on me, or maybe I was just ready to be
home. Whatever it was, I had to get rid of it as soon as possible because I had
6 exams to take in a matter of 7 days!
The month of April was a month of academic rigor for me. I
realized that my schedule the first semester didn’t compare to my 20 hour
course load that I had this semester. I was not only taking more courses than
the semester before, but I was taking more difficult classes. Three of the
courses that I was in were business school prerequisites, which also didn’t help
with the cause. As I scanned over the calendar at the beginning of April, it
felt as if I would never make it. I could see the finish line, but I didn’t know
if I had enough fuel left in the tank to make it there. However, as you can
tell I made it! I not only made it, but I made it with two new opportunities on
my plate.
I have mentioned before, and I will probably mention a
thousand more times, college is full of opportunities, and each day is a new
day for a new opportunity. If you can carry that attitude around with you
during your college career, you will watch many doors open. Many doors have
been slammed and opened for me in this short year at Chapel Hill, but on the
last day of class, the doors of the Taj Mahal opened up. I received a call from
the assistant equipment manager for the Carolina Football team. He called to
inform me that I needed to come into his office for a bit to discuss some
things.
Just to fill you in:
Earlier that week I was playing basketball with some
buddies, and one of them asked me if I had any friends who would want to become
a football manager. He mentioned that they were looking for one or two guys to
come on staff for next season. I kind of just stopped and looked at him. Took a
deep breath, and said, “And why didn’t you ask me? I would love to do something
like that!!” For some reason or another he thought that maybe I wasn’t a big
football fan or that he didn’t think I would be interested. I informed him that
I would love to have a chance to work as a manager, and if he could get me
hooked up that would be great! Within 24 hours, I was sitting in an office in
Kenan Memorial Stadium having an interview.
Ok, back to the real world!
As I headed to the office at Kenan Memorial for the second
interview, I had this weird feeling that I was actually going to get the
position. I had already told my dad about the first interview and all of the
perks I was informed about if I got the position. The equipment manager that
interviewed told me that a manager is just like a varsity athlete, but you don’t
play. If I was to receive the job I would travel, eat, sleep, practice, and receive
everything thing that the team did. And since I would be working I would
actually be getting paid. As I told my dad this I could feel him grinning
through the phone. Was it the two free tickets to every game that made him so
excited???
When I entered his office, it was as simple as it gets. “Austin,
we liked your interview, and we would like to bring you on staff for next year!”
Woah…what? Everything seemed crazy. I felt like I had been given a dream job.
In a lot of ways it is a dream job to many crazy Tar Heel fans like me. After I
hopped off the white chariot of a daze I was in; I signed a few papers, and
became a Carolina Football Manager. I don’t tell you this to show you what all
I have done, but I tell you this because every person, at every university in
the world has a dream, and when you unload your bags on move in day is when
your path to pursuing your dream begins. I don’t believe I ever had the
specific dream of working with the Carolina Football Team, but I have always
had the dream of working with “a” Carolina team.
When I found out that I had received the job I knew I had to
quit my other job at The Daily Tar Heel. I wasn’t really excited about quitting
The Daily Tar Heel because I enjoyed the job so much, and I was finally getting
used to how everything worked. However, there was no way that I could do both
jobs, and I figured that I could sell ads for the next thirty years.
If you ever have to quit a job for any reason I just have a
quick tip. Always, always be a man/woman about the situation. Look your boss in
the eye, tell the truth, shake hands and really thank them for the opportunity
that they gave you. It will really say something about your character, and you
never know if you will need them for a reference in the future.
I ended up gaining a dream job and quitting the best college
newspaper in the same day. I called my dad to tell him the news and he was the
first to congratulate me. We had a brief conversation and hung up. It wasn’t thirty
seconds after a conversation and he had called back. He called back just to
tell me how proud he was of me. I don’t know if he realizes it or not, but
those are the moments that really mean something to me.
The other opportunity seemed to be another dream job of
mine. I received a job to work for the Roy Williams Basketball Camp over the
summer. I will be working as an RA (residential advisor) for the campers. My
first year college experience felt like an enormous amount of blessings. I
really didn’t know how to handle it all because I feel like I owe so much back.
It wasn’t until I was talking to one of my friends back home that it all made
perfect since. She told me, “Jesus said I’ve made you rich in opportunity so
that you may be generous on every occasion.”
I guess I am overly blessed with opportunities, but one
thing that I am not blessed with is genuineness. Final exams are a time that I
really didn’t enjoy first semester because it feels like the only thing you do
is sleep, study, eat, and study more.
Since I was taking 20 hours, that meant I had to take a total
of six exams. I knew that each of the six exams would be extremely difficult
and I knew I needed to spend equal amount of time on each. It is very difficult
to divide your time evenly between exams because they are all spread throughout
the week. Your hardest subject might have its exam on the first day, or it
could be on the last. Final exam week can create a ton of stress for a lot of
college students because most of the time final exams count for a majority of
your grade. After completing my second semester of exams I have found that the
stress does absolutely nothing. Really, stop stressing if you are because in
about two weeks, that exam grade won’t even be on your mind. That doesn’t mean
you shouldn’t study, but I am just telling you that you shouldn’t neglect your
health just because you think that studying as much as possible will benefit
you.
I realize that I don’t hold 4.0 GPA status, but during exams
I have peace. Here are few things I do during exams that help eleveate some of
the unwanted stress:
1.
Make a study plan, write down what you are going
to study, and when you are going to study each day. Do this at least a week in
advance, it will allow you time to add to the schedule.
2.
Stay active. I love to play basketball or run. Don’t
forget that staying physically active during exams can be beneficial to your
exam scores.
3.
SLEEP. I know it sounds redundant, but take
naps. You will be able to remember much more if you take the time to sleep. I
have yet to pull an all-nighter for an exam, and I passed with flying colors
My grades for my second semester in college were not as high
standing as they were the first semester. As you continue your college career
you will become accepting of grades that you thought you would never accept. And
that is perfectly ok. Learn to not stress out about grades because there are
better things to worry about.
My first year is over and it’s really hard to fathom. As I
went back and read the first chapter, I read what I thought was amazing. “I
don’t think I realize it yet, but my life is going to be transformed into
something that I can’t imagine.” At the time I realized something, but I didn’t
know what. I had faith deep down inside of me that couldn’t have been more
right. My first year was definitely something that I couldn’t imagine. I never
imagined meeting Hubert Davis, becoming the “bananaman”, or even making the
Dean’s List first semester. But what I did imagine was that I knew that God had
his hand on me and I knew if He was a part of my life, it would be nothing
short of spectacular.
The Class of 2016 just moved one more year closer to
graduation. As I sit on the beach with my Granny Kat, I can see it. I can see
the upcoming years like a boat in the distance. It looks really far away and
you can’t make out type of boat it is, but you know it’s there. Someone is
guiding it, while the other is just along for the ride. As my boat nears the
shore, I know there will be plenty of more opportunities to scoop on board,
plenty of sharks that will get in the way, but in the end, my Guider, will lead
me to the finish line.
