Garrett Robinson

It was January 20th, a married couple Greg and Colleen Robinson only recently moved to Chicago, Illinois less than a year ago. That morning, they were given their first child, whom they'd name Garrett. As you'd probably already assume, that's me. For the next few years, I'd grow as a young kid, having not a care in the world other than toy cars, especially school buses. 

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March 15th, 2002. My parents placed me in the car, packed high with many things I'd seen around my house, having no idea where we were off to. That day I ended up on a small island in Western New York, on the border of Canada, but still on the outskirts of Buffalo; I had my first steps on Grand Island, my home for the next 15 years. That same year, on July 2nd, my mother brought a little sister into the world for me, Mikayla.

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February, 2012. I'm on a flight home from Europe, still taking in some of the incredible sights I have just seen including the Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triumph, Big Ben, and Westminster Abbey. Travelling, whether it be moving or simply adventure, has been a huge aspect of my life. I've had the opportunity to travel to countless places including three foreign countries, and twenty five of the fifty states that call America their home. 

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November 13, 2017. My high school soccer team, just a year after going to the state final four for the first time in school history, has just lost in the state finals. It's the final game I'll ever play with the boys I've grown up with my entire life. I had the honor of being named a first-team all state player, but it runs in and out as I am simply trying to get over the fact that my memory-filled high school career is now over. Our bus home reaches the bridges that connect Grand Island to the rest of New York, and we are met by an escort by  the fire department and a line of over two miles of cars. We reach the school where about 300 more of our closest friends and family are waiting to congratulate us on a record breaking season. I can't help but shed some tears and be grateful for the community that I have and will be able to call my home for the rest of my life. Throughout the ride however, I have had a crazy obsession with sports, to which I blame for having my, sometimes unbearable, competitiveness. I've tried just about every sport you can think of, and the list grows all the time. Sports, quite honestly take over the majority of my life still, as you will still catch me watching ESPN for about half of my day. They've opened up the greatest of opportunities for me and I cannot be thankful enough for the people I've be able to surround myself with because of them. 

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April, 2017. The first of May is approaching, and I have yet to make my college decision. I have a few offers to play soccer at both the division one and three levels locally, but I am also considering an engineering degree which I have been told not to take on if I am going to have an athlete's demanding schedule. I look at my options, Florida State, Ohio State, Buffalo, Fredonia, and Pittsburg, and then I noticed a scholarship from Florida State that had gone unseen before. Looking over that, and having just visited Florida State, I had simply fallen in love with it all, and made my decision. I decided to at least put my soccer career on hold, as I am going to college primarily for an education, in which I am pursuing a Biomedical Engineering degree with pre-medicine requisites. 

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Today I still continue to live out my dreams. I continue to try and be a role model for the young kids back home that have looked and continue to look up to me each and every day. I continue to try and be a difference maker in a world that seems to become darker all the time, and I will always be trying to live morally and with respect to each and every person out there. 

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Hope you enjoyed! Thanks for reading!