Thoughts from a Freshman

Hello all!
My name is Charron Leeper and I am currently a freshman here at Radford University. I am originally, born and raised, from Cleveland Heights, Ohio and came to Radford by being recruited on an athletic scholarship to play basketball for this university. Even though I am only several months into my four year college experience, I have already learned, overcome,and experienced a lot, within and outside of basketball.

So far I have learned that 1.) Your food dollars will run out even though you think they won't, so don't be a fatty and eat too much!:) 2.) Preseason - really should be renamed Track season because all one will do is run........and run some more! 3.) There is such a thing called Summer :)! ( sometimes you forget that coming from Cleveland!) 4.) People from the South know that they sure can cook some good chicken! Lastly number five is something that my Coach Mrs. Jeri Porter said that I have to decided to adopt for myself for many reasons. She said, "Don't count the days, make the days count." This motto which was presented to us as the thought of the week is in essence what I will try my best to do during the 4 year duration of my stay here at Radford.

However, in all seriousness I have learned by being here on my own that I can do what ever I believe I can do. I learned this during preseason, which was kind of tough. I had to push my self to get through the workouts, and the most challenging obstacle I had to get through was making my mile time! I learned that you have to JUST DO IT just like Nike says...I know it sounds cliche but it is the truth. Sometimes you can't think about it, complain about it, or run away from it. You just have to do it, period. But I really wished that I could run away from those Five -fortyfive AM work outs...I did't want to just do those! :) However, just in these weeks I have learned some valuable lessons and that was only preseason. I do miss my family but being away from them is not as bad as I thought. I like my teammates and I hope we have a phenomenal season this year. How are classes you say? They are fine. The classes that I am currently taking are interesting and I am doing pretty well in them. But I have learned that I am not a morning person and 8 am classes everyday are not for me! :) I could go on and talk for days about more lessons learned and wonderful things here at Radford but you will just have to come and experience it for yourself!

~Peace and Blessings~

Charron # 42