Something in my life that has inspired me but mainly pushed me to be the best me in sports is my closest cousin that was literally like my big brother, and someone I seen and was around everyday. My closest cousin died in a car crash with me when I was 12 years old. Me, My mom, My sister and two of my closest cousins where on the way to Gulfport, Mississippi for the weekend to have some fun and to discover new things we’ve never seen before. Halfway there the back left tire busted and we flew off the road and flipped 9 times. Me and my cousin flew out of the car and I went one direction and he went the other. When I was finally able to stop rolling my body felt like I was paralyzed and I couldn’t move. I couldn’t wake up once I stopped rolling, my heart was beating so fast and everything happened so fast to where when I woke up I didn’t know what was going on until I just stopped and looked around, when I seen my mom’s Durango flipped everything came back to me and it was just something that I couldn’t believe just happened because that was the first time I ever experienced anything like it. When I woke up I walked back to the truck and I seen my cousin on the ground with his eyes rolled to the back of his head beside the truck and i’m trying to wake him up, but i’m gettin no reply. Luckily my Football Coach’s, Close Friends, and Family were behind us and they seen everything that happened. My cousin was life flighted and they had to hurry to get him to the hospital. We get to the hospital around 7 p.m. to put stitches in my arm to close the gashes from glass being in my arm and certain cream for my lip from being busted open. We were able to leave around 2 a.m. I get home and i’m just up and worried about him. My Dad comes to wake Me and my Sister up to let us know the news he had gotten from the hospital and he tells us that my cousin didn’t make it and he passed away from internal bleeding. I was in a really sad stage in my life at that point because I seen him everyday and I had really lost my Best Friend/Cousin. Me playing sports at that time and trying to get through life without him was kinda hard because it was football season for me and he played football so that was all we did and talked about everyday was football. Me pushing through playing sports at the time where I know I didn’t have him there to support me anymore is something i’m very proud of because without him it was very hard and just where my mind was I just wasn’t in the right place at the time. So me going through that and me pushing everyday to keep going in sports and in life is something that i’m very proud of and something I will NEVER forget.

An event that impacted my life would be when my father passed away when I was 16. That was really hard for me because we really didn't have that father and son relationship that I would have liked to have but we were still on good terms and communicated. It hit me really hard because around the time that I heard about him passing, I was going to go to his house to fix things to where he's back in my life and I'm back in his but unfortunately I heard the news that I heard before I made that trip. Sports was still going and I had a lot going on at the time and on top of that I heard some bad news that I didn't want to hear so that made me work even harder in sports, school, etc. Basketball started so this season I was ready to work harder and it's time to work and let's do this for him. Me going to practice everyday was kinda hard because I was thinking about him and on top of that I had practice. One day I was at practice and I had to leave because I had to meet with a man to put my opinion on what I wanted to happen if I wanted it to be a funeral or not. Weeks after they asked if I wanted to keep some of his ashes and keep things that meant alot to me which were chains, clothes, house decorations, etc. Eventually I had to go clean his apartment out with just my mom and seeing his things again that I haven't seen in years really hurt me. I got home and I just sat and thought about how I should have done things earlier and faster but I tried not to put everything on me at the time with me trying to do everything else in my life. My senior year football season came to an end week 10 of football season and me hearing that clock go off in the 4th quarter just burned me inside knowing that I couldn't go to practice monday-thursday to give it my all for me and my dad was hard to get through. Basketball season is here once again and I couldn't play until the last 4 weeks of the season due to me hurting my knee with the sport right before basketball. I got great news from my doctor that I will be able to get cleared before the time I was supposed to and get to play some of my senior year. I got to work immediately and gave it my all everyday for me and my dad. Game 1 for me has come and I started off very slow and i'm just frustrated with myself because I know I can play better then what i'm playing and my dad would tell me the same, so I just get back to work and work harder and harder everyday. My senior night comes and him not being able to walk out with me or watch my last home game is not something a young man would like to go through but I push and get through it every time and day I think about it. My main two sports were done for my senior year and he wasn't there to experience it with me.

My FAVORITE hobby is sports. I started playing football and basketball when I was 4 years old. Me just growing up and being around the same sports year around I got a love for the sports I did. When I turned 9 years old I moved across the creek to a different school and I had to played for a different team so I was trying to get use to playing with other kids I didn’t know and coaches I didn't know. The atmosphere was really nice and I got comfortable fast with the new people and coaches I met. When I moved across the creek I started baseball and I really liked it so after my first year of baseball when I was 9 I stuck with it so I was a 3 sport athlete once I moved across the creek. I kept playing all 3 of the sports then and through middle school until I got to my Freshman year of high school and I was a 4 sport athlete because I added track to my sports and I enjoyed everyone of the sports that I played. Sports mainly brings joy to me because when i’m playing them I just forget everything outside of sports that I might have problems with or when i’m stressed. I have so much love for each and every sports that I do to where if I know i’m having problems or I just want to get away from everything and just go somewhere where I feel peace and relaxed I know I can either go to the football field, basketball court, or the track. I’ve played Varsity level of each sport since my 9th year to now my 12th grade year and I will be going to college for Football in Fall 2022 (Undecided College at the moment until I choose the best fit for me). Some awards i’ve won in the sports I play are in track my 9th grade year I won 1st place 4x800 meter in pre sectionals and qualified for state. My 11th grade year I qualified for state, but I stopped short because of travel basketball, but I still got MVP. Another award I won was in this years past football season I won Best Offensive Skill Player.

A turnaround story in my life is when closest cousin died in a car crash with me when I was 12 years old. Me, My mom, My sister and two of my closest cousins where on the way to Gulfport, Mississippi for the weekend to have some fun and to discover new things we’ve never seen before. Halfway there the back left tired busted out of nowhere and we flew off the road and flipped 9 times. Me and my cousin flew of the car and I went one direction and he went the other. When I was finally able to wake up I walked back to the truck and I seen my cousin on the ground with his eyes rolled to the back of his head beside the truck and i’m trying to wake him up but i’m gettin no reply. We get to the hospital and later on at 2:00 that morning he didn’t make it and I heard about it the next morning. I was in a really sad stage at that point because I seen him everyday and I had really lost my best friend/cousin. Me playing sports at that time was kinda hard because it was football season and he played football so that was all we talked about everyday and played on the video game was football. Me pushing through playing sports at the time where I know I didn’t have him there to support anymore is something i’m very proud of because without him it was very hard and just where my mind was I wasn’t in the right place at the time. So me going through that and me pushing everyday to keep going in sports and in life is a BIG turnaround story in my life that i’m proud of.

My dreams life looks like me becoming a really success person who will do the right things to be in that situation. Every since I got to into high school I wanted to go to college to major in Masonry and for me to get into a business where I would have a good pay for me to take care of myself and my family. Masonry wasn’t the field I wanted to go into anymore once I hit my Senior Year of High School, I changed to going into the Engineering field. I want to live in Tennessee once I get out of high school and college to where I have to take care of myself. Tennessee has a lot of good businesses to where I could possibly get into for Engineering and me just getting comfortable with my surroundings and getting along with the people i’m going to be working with everyday is a big key for me. Just me being really successful is something I will work for and strive for everyday not just for me, but for my family and future wife.

I have two favorite hobbies and those are Video Gaming and Sports. I like to play video game because it’s something I can do when i’m not doing school work and sports all day. I have a lot of people I game with so me playing the game with people I know is just relaxing and me having fun while i’m home and not doing sports or anything school related at the time. My other hobby which is also my FAVORITE hobby is sports. I started playing football and basketball when I was 4 years old. Me just growing up and being around the same sports year around I got a love for the sports I did. When I turned 9 years old I moved across the creek to a different school and I had to played for a different team so I was trying to get use to playing with other kids I didn’t know and coaches I didn't know. The atmosphere was really nice and I got comfortable fast with the new people and coaches I met. When I moved across the creek I started baseball and I really liked it so after my first year of baseball when I was 9 I stuck with it so I was a 3 sport athlete once I moved across the creek. I kept playing all 3 of the sports then and through middle school until I got to my Freshman year of high school and I was a 4 sport athlete because I added track to my sports and I enjoyed everyone of the sports that I played. I played Varsity level of each sport since my 9th year to now my 12th grade year and I will be going to college for Football in Fall 2022 (Undecided College).

My name is Alex Alvarez and I will be telling you two times I helped others that were in the need of it. Going into my Senior Year of High School we had a really bad tornado and close to where I go to high school trees fell onto houses, trees falling out in front of peoples homes that weren’t physically able to pick them up or to move them. After football practice in the morning during the summer we would all load up on a bus and go to peoples home that needed help cleaning their yards, and cleaning up inside. Another time where I helped people was my Junior Year of High School when me and the track team hosted a car wash on the weekend, early morning. We got paid for washing peoples cars that pulled up and needed their cars washed but after a couples of hours we wanted to give car washes to people that needed it that didn’t really have the money to get a car wash at the time and I just wanted them to ride around in a good, clean vehicle. That’s two of the times where I helped people that were in the need of help. I really like to help people and me helping people isn’t a problem at all, I don’t like to see people that don’t have the things that they want but whatever I can do to help I will do.

An event that impacted my life would be when my father passed away when I was 16. That was really hard for me because we really didn't have that father and son relationship that I would have like to have but we were still on good terms and communicated. It hit me really hard because around the time that I heard about him passing, I was going to go to his house to fix things to where he's back in my life and I'm back in his but unfortunately I heard the news that I heard before I made that trip. Sports was still going and I had a lot going on at the time and on top of that I heard some bad news that I didn't want to hear so that made me work even harder in sports, school, etc. Basketball started so this season I was ready to work harder and it's time to work and let's do this for him. Me going to practice everyday was kinda hard because I was thinking about him and on top of that I had practice. One day I was at practice and I had to leave because I had to meet with a man to put my opinion on what I wanted to happen if I wanted it to be a funeral or not. Weeks after they asked if I wanted to keep some of his ashes and keep things that meant alot to me which were chains, clothes, house decorations, etc. Eventually I had to go clean his apartment out with just my mom and seeing his things again that I haven't seen in years really hurt me. I got home and I just sat and thought about how I should have done things earlier and faster but I tried not to put everything on me at the time with me trying to do everything else in my life. The end of my junior year was coming to an end and knowing that my dad couldn't be in my support system and being there for me was very sad to me but I tried my hardest to get through it. Summer time just started and we're starting to workout, practice, and have competition with schools all around us. I know that a reason for me to be working this hard is because of my dad, it's time to get focused and compete. I was starting to love football again and with my dad passing away it started to make me love it even more because he always supported any decision that I've ever made. He always wanted me to do other things that I didn't find fun or something that I wanted to do in the future but he still stood by my side and supported me. My Senior year is here and I have a football game in 3 weeks and my dad not being here is still weighing heavy on me, due to the fact he's not here for my last first game. Every game I played this season was for my dad, well until my homecoming game where I had a career ending injury, which added on to everything I was feeling about his death still. Not being able to finish my senior season of football was just devastating because one of the main reasons I was going so hard was for him and I didnt get to finish what I started. I found days later I did some horrible things to my ACL and that I wouldn't be able to return for my senior year and finish what I started to push everyday and give it my last not just for me but for him also. He was a motivation for me to get through therapy and to not take it as a joke to try to get back to my best self and maybe a better and stronger me. My football season came to an end week 10 of football season and me hearing that clock go off in the 4th quarter just burned me inside knowing that I couldn't go to practice monday-thursday to give it my all for me and my dad was hard to get through. Basketball season is here once again and I couldn't play until the last 4 weeks of the season due to me hurting my knee with the sport right before basketball. I got great news from my doctor that I will be able to get cleared before the time I was supposed to and get to play some of my senior year. I got to work immediately and gave it my all everyday for me and my dad. Game 1 for me has come and I started off very slow and i'm just frustrated with myself because I know I can play better then what i'm playing and my dad would tell me the same, so I just get back to work and work harder and harder everyday. My senior night comes and him not being able to walk out with me or watch my last home game is not something a young man would like to go through but I push and get through it every time and day I think about it. My main two sports were done for my senior year and he wasn't there to experience it with me.

My name is Alex Alvarez. I am currently a 18 year old senior at W.S.Neal High School. I came to Neal in the 3rd grade and i’ve been attending there every since. I plan on attending in Fall 2022. I plan on attending Huntingdon college to play Football at the next level and to major in Engineering. Some things I will do to avoid college debts are working in the off-season from Football, Doing a lot of scholarships to where I can build up a lot of scholarships to help me pay for college and me not coming out of pocket so much because Huntingdon is a private school so they’re tuition, Dorms, Books, etc are a lot more then Universities around me. I would really love if I could get this scholarship and I would help me a lot and Thank You.