My Work

Week 4 Idea Map

The step that changed my life

Jeff Stuart

Thesis Statement:

I have taken a lot of life’s steps in the 50 years, some have been planned, and some have not planned at all. Looking back, the unplanned steps have changed my life’s course, more so than the planned ones. I am not talking about the steps I made as a child. I am talking about the steps I made as teenager in high school, and as an adult.

Content:

It was 1981, I was 18 years old, and life was great. I was a star high school athlete. I did not think of myself as a star. I was told I was by; Coaches, Teachers, Newspapers, and people that came to see me play Football. I had it all, or so I thought. I was the high school’s Quarterback, dating the head cheerleader. Everywhere I went I was told, ‘you got it made.’ If you hear that enough, you start believing it, and I did. I had Colleges wanting me to play for them. I could have gone to any big University I wanted to, on a full Athletic Scholarship. My next step after high school was College. That was my plan.

It was a Friday night, and it was football season. It was the last game of my high school football career. I knew there were college football recruiters in the stands, just to see me play. I did not think much about them being there. It was nothing new to me. I always played as hard as I could, no matter who was watching. We were ahead, and the game was going our way. It was the third quarter; the other team had just scored a touchdown. I was back to receive their kick, like I had done many times in the past. I caught the ball and started running. No one was around me for about twenty yards. As another player got close to me, I cut across the field, which is the step that changed my life. My left knee popped and I went down. When I tried to stand, it would pop out. This was not good. I just did not know just how bad it was. I don’t remember the pain. I got my knee taped up, and keep playing as best I could. It was the...