Blog 4

  One of the mantras for CNU is “Lead a Life of Significance”. Before you can achieve this, you should know the definition of a mantra. A mantra is described as a sacred message or text. This is a message that you live by or that you hold close to your heart. CNU’s mantra can be achieved if you have someone or something that you look up to. I have a big role model in my life that has taught me right from wrong and has raised me to be the person I am today. The person that I idolize the most in my life would be my dad. My dad and I have been very close since I was born. I grew up outdoors with him teaching me everything I needed to know. He taught me how to play basketball and baseball when I was young. I grew up by his side and we were pretty much inseparable, everywhere he went, I was right there with him. When I was younger, maybe five or six years old, he would take me hunting. I followed him right on his heels because I wanted to be just like him. There wasn't a basketball game he missed or a baseball tournament he didn't throw the ball with me. He has been one of my biggest supporters throughout my young life with everything I did. I recently got the opportunity to start working for/with him when he started his own charter fishing business. We have been fishing together since I could walk so getting an opportunity like that was a major achievement. He taught me how to fish when I was younger, and I am still gaining knowledge of the sport to this day. My father has guided me through some rough times in my life. He was there with me when I bought my first vehicle, and when I got into a little fender bender in it. He was there to give me advice when I needed it. When I had nowhere else to go and no one else to turn to, I found myself going back to one of the biggest mentors in my life for support. He may not be a professional athlete, movie star, or have any sort of fame, but he is my hero. I look up to him each and every day. When I need someone to talk to, to hear me out, or someone to give me advice he is the one I turn to. In the future, I strive to be like him. He is by no means perfect, but he is definitely my role model. In all, my dad has guided me throughout my life up to this point and will continue to for the rest of it. 

A person that I idolize and that I wish I got a chance to meet would be Michael Jordan. The way he carries himself is unmatched. In his early life, Michael was cut from his high school basketball team. He was given a choice to train harder and get better at the game, or give up on basketball. He took the first option and trained and got better at what he did. He took getting cut from the team and went back harder and harder. During high school he was being recruited to the top D1 basketball schools including Virginia, Duke, and Georgetown. The school that he really wanted to go to however did not offer him a scholarship. This was another hardship he encountered during his younger years but had to work through. He attended North Carolina without a scholarship and walked on to the team. The coaches noticed his hard work ethic and dedication and soon after gave him a scholarship. Another major event the great had to work through was his father being murdered at a rest stop in North Carolina. Michaels father was asleep in his car at a rest stop when two men tried to rob him and it went wrong. Michael had a lot of choices in his life, a lot of setbacks, but he somehow found a way to persevere through the hardships and continue on to be one of the best basketball players in history. He had the choice to give up after being cut. He had the choice to attend a college that had already offered him and not go somewhere that didn't want him at the time. Finally, he had the choice to stay retired after his father was murdered, but he came back and won championships. I am admired by his drive and will not only in basketball but in his life. MJ never settled for less than perfection in his life and that's how I strive to be. He was not perfect by any means of the word, but he tried his hardest in everything he did. He has been a role model in my life for a while now and I don't think anyone could be more of an idol to me. He donates a lot of his time and money to various charities around the United States to help children in need. He is a role model in many people's eyes and is a big one in mine.