Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Kenny McKinley

     Death is such a traumatic experience. I can remember when my grandmother died, I was so heart broken. So when I hear about other's experiences, I tend to think about her. That was the same when I read an ESPN alert about a Denver Broncos receiver named Kenny McKinley, who was found dead in his apartment.
     I did not know who he was or even heard of him, but it really made me think when I got this text message. It was very vague and did not give a lot of info, but I needed to know more. It is always a curious thing, death that is, and you want to know more about the person. I read further on the subject and he had committed suicide in his apartment after smoking marijuana. As a rookie, he showed a promising season, but injured himself during training camp and had surgery that would keep him out of the 2010 season and cause him be placed on injured reserved. He apparently was a very happy guy who loved to hang out with his friends, family, and teammates, which still asks why he did it. As I read on the story, the story said he had made suicidal notes after the surgery. He was apparently depresses over the fact that he would not play for the rest of the season. This is related to most athletes because they are so pushed to be successful. They also feel incredible animosity towards the fact that they are not getting playing time. Sports are for showing how tough you are and when you can't play, you lose that reputation. But what really blew my mind was what he had done a few days earlier. He flew to his hometown in South Carolina to pick up his son. The guy had a family, played in professional sports, and seemed like he had a happy life. What could be better? Of course I'm sure there is more than the media knows, but imagine that son when he grows up how he will feel knowing his father committed suicide. How will that affect him for the rest of his life? It'll be hard for him to grow up not having a dad. Makes you wonder, what really was going through his mind that made him want to kill himself on a personal level. Why would someone ever want to kill themselves, I will never know. But the fact of the matter is: he was an incredibly like able guy and family man and I'm sure the Broncos realize they are losing a great leader. Death is a crazy thing and all I can say is R.I.P. Kenny McKinley and R.I.P. Mama. I will always love you.

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Wednesday, September 15, 2010

College!

I started the introduction of my future Thursday and I must say," What a roller coaster ride this will be!"
My classes seem real interesting and I cannot complain about my teachers..... yet! I was extremely anxious and worried about entering this world. What was I going to expect? What was I going to do? How hard will classes be? How big classes would be? All of this ran through my mind going into my first class.
There I was entering my first class not knowing anything except this eight page syllabus that seemed like it was going to be a difficult class. I pictured the teacher being old, mean, and too smart to handle himself. The door opened and a man in his early thirties walks in, one thing down on my list. Then he starts.... joking with us. Saying that the syllabus is not what we're going to do and that this class will be so much easier than expected. My point of this story is you never know what life brings you. You worry so much about something and then you realize you worried for nothing. I truly think I'll love college.