My feature story 2016 and Beyond

(No title)

Christopher Drummond

PRWR 6520

Dr. Pratt

6 April 24

I added some more information under the year 2016. Talking about my Megabus trip and how excited I was to do my first internship. I added some changes grammatically to this text as well.

2016 and Beyond: Character built through tough times revised.

Author's note

I just want to say it has been an absolute pleasure being in this class with all your wonderful people and terrific writers. This is a story of resiliency through pain. Bad choices that were made on my part and the environment that I was in. However, I overcame that with help and was able to accomplish goals of mine. The hardships I have endured have made me stronger today but also made me the person I am today. My patience is naturally thin when it comes to adults and I speak my mind quite a bit after reading this story, I am sure you will understand. I welcome you all to my story of 2016 and beyond: Character built through tough times.

It is a beautiful sunny day in 2016 and I am sitting in an ambulance thinking to myself how did this happen? I was living near the KSU campus and was not feeling well. My taste buds were off, and I was drinking Tropicana juices by the quart, multiple ones in a day. I knew something was wrong, but I just did not know what. I went to the doctor's office on campus and got a regular checkup. They said my blood sugar was pass 423. The normal one is around 72-113. I was dehydrated and abnormally tired. Thus, I went into the ambulance and headed to the hospital. I was admitted and they wanted to run tests on me to make sure nothing else was wrong. Here I was a 29-year-old man and laying up in a hospital feeling like absolute shit. The doctor said I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. He gave me a plan to start getting better and I took that seriously because I wanted to be around. My family had a history of this, and I have lost loved ones to it. I was in the hospital for three days with an IV in me and they fed me food and drinks that did not have sugar in them. My blood sugar dropped and then they gave me a prescription to start taking it so I can maintain my glucose level. My main thing to change though was my dieting and exercising. I did not use to exercise at all or watch my diet but now I especially do get older. I was released from hospital that day, but little did I know my life adventures were just starting.

Later that year I would be evicted from my house. I was working at Mountasia as a track supervisor and doing security at Kennesaw State events. However, I was not making enough money and sometimes could barely have money to eat. I would buy a whole loaf of whole wheat bread and make that last for a week. Could not even afford the meat and cheese to make a sandwich. I asked my mama and dad both religiously for Pizza, I knew I could stretch those out as well. At this time, I was staying with a friend named Kingsley. He was like a brother to me, a good person and kept it ten toes down but I knew he wanted his own place back and I could not give him anything outside of gas money. My stress level was high because I just knew I was going back into the hospital. I knew no woman would want a man like this. I eventually left Kingsley’s place and gave him back his own. I crawled back to my mama’s house, a broken down mentally drained man, who needed help in the worse way. I was prideful and brought a lot of these things happening to me on my own. However, my aunt was not feeling me coming back home. My uncle could be careless, and my mother said the quote that still makes me tear up to this day “Where you go, I go. We may be homeless, but we will be homeless together. She expressed that to my aunt and uncle, she did not have to do that at all but that is how much of an incredible woman she is, and I am forever grateful to the greatest mother I know. I ended up staying and thus started another journey in my life, becoming a man. The last conversation my mother and I had in the year 2016 turned my life around. She stated, “Son I want to tell you this because I love you very much. You have been doing well ever since returning here but keep in mind I am not going to be here forever. I need you to start making better decisions with your life, health, money and all the above. Do not take time for granted and do not get comfortable. Continue to strive for your goals and achieve them. I love you. That was the last phrase before we went into 2017 together and oh what a year that would be.

Bonus info: Megabus

Prior to the start of the 2017 year, I went to an Atlanta falcons career fair, all dress up with my vest on and looking casket sharp might I add. I had thirty resumes to pass out to all the vendors I was interested in attending that year. It was a successful event as I left with just three resumes left and hoping that I would get a call for a job opportunity and the very next month I did. The Knoxville Ice Bears called me up and said can you do an internship right now and finish the season. The staff had a lot of people leave and go back home from school. I was super excited they called so I said “Hell Yes” without even thinking about it. At this point, I had no car, did not have a clue where Knoxville was and did not even know what the job entailed. I quickly found out those things and took my very first Megabus to Knoxville. I found out the games were on Fridays and Saturdays (my days off at Intralot). I would wake up at 4:30 a.m., catch an Uber to the Civic center, get on a bus to Knoxville from 6-10 a.m. to the Civic Center. The Ice Bears played across the street. I would then catch a bus to my hotel and relax, then catch a bus back to civic center for games. I did this for three and a half months, finding out how it was to work for a professional team. I did Will Call tickets and oversaw the play area for kids. The title was GameDay Operator, and it was three months I would never forget. Taught me what I want to do and what I did not want to do within sports.

2017: Becoming a man

As stated previously, I was doing we in my new job of Intralot, I started that in April 2016 and it was my first full time job. I was excited because I was making good money plus living near family, which I loved the most! In March of 2017, tragedy struck in two ways. My uncle was driving our family car, and the wheel broke off, Luckily, he was on a QuikTrip when this happened and he along with others did not get hurt. However, it left my mom in a worried type of situation because she had to find a way to get to work. Also, we ended up losing our apartment and had to move into an extended stay hotel earlier this year. I told her we will take a taxi to the dealership and get you a car. I will make payments to help and pay insurance until I can get mine. I told her you will not go careless if I can help it. That is just what families do. Mama would get her car, and everything was fine after that. In July 2017, it was my turn. My aunt and uncle worked close, so they did not need cars. I was preparing myself though to split from the family and go back on my own as a more mature adult. I got my car and paid off my eviction notice from before, continue to save and help mama with her insurance. I also got a promotion at work too, making more money and getting more days off, about which I was not complaining. I ended working overnight in operations and did so until 2021, when I made a career change. 2017 was a rough one for all of us in the family but we made it through. 2018 was going to be different because I knew now, this would be my last time living with my family. It was time for me to grow up and become a man, supporting myself.

2018: On my Own

I finally moved out of the hotel into UCLUB on Frey Rd. I missed being around my family but did love independence. I also wanted to move back closer to school as I had to drop out of classes in 2016. I was working and had to fight through some financial issues at KSU. I was able to pay off what I owed the school as far as an outstanding balance. Then I had to build up more money because I found out that semester, I could not get financial aid because of my low GPA. Again, more roadblocks and hurdles caused by me. So, I worked and saved more money, just taking time to get the chance to enroll back into school. I had fifty-two credits and thought about doing Chattahoochee tech, but I did not understand the concepts of transferring credits plus more importantly, I could not get my transcripts (low GPA). I then got the call that I did not want to receive.

My father, Wayne Drummond, had a heart attack in 2014. I was so financially unstable that I had not seen my dad in four years. He would come down when he was able to bring the family, but it was not often. We just talked about that last weekend, and I told him that I was going to see him for Christmas. He was excited and everything seemed fine. I got the call-in mid-June that he had a second heart attack, it broke me to the core because my stepmother was crying, my little brother was crying, and my dad was being carted off in an ambulance. Here I am, wondering, did I get my shit together too late to see my father again? All those times I burdened him with asking for pizzas and cookies, eating unhealthily, saving the food because I could not consistently feed myself. I was just praying that he would be all right because I was nowhere near him to help the situation, so I calmed my stepmom and brother’s nerves as much I could over the phone. We found out hours later that he would be all right, but a lot of energy was drained from him, and a stint was put in his heart. I made a vow to myself, to never let a job tell me I cannot take time off to see my family. If a job does not understand that then I will not be working for them, and I have not had a problem since.

That Christmas was one of the best memories I had in my life. I was able to fly to New York and hug my dad for the first time in years he saw me as a man that was on the come up. We sat down and reminisced about childhood stories, went to dinner places, and just spent a wonderful Christmas together as a family. 2019, I had two small goals. Move into my own 1-bedroom apartment and enroll back at KSU. Both were accomplished in that year.

2019: Going, Going, Back, Back to KSU

I missed the reenrollment period for that spring, so I vowed to make sure I took summer classes back at KSU. I had fifty-two credits but a poor GPA, so I knew I would have to drop some coins to get my classes and books. I took three classes and passed with a 3.0 GPA Thought that would be good enough to get my financial aid back, but nope. Devastated again and I had to pay out of pocket once more. However, I was finally going back to KSU and looking forward to meeting people and seeing people in my major because I was now classified as a Junior. Fall 2019 went well as the entire year flew by. I was now also working event security seeing all kinds of shows from rapper J. Cole to Elmo and the rest of the Sesame Street gang. I also got a 3.33 GPA and found my passion in sports writing and radio being apart Owl Radio. I fell in love with storytelling and covering games. Being able to write about sports and talk about them is my dream job. At that time, I had never done anything close to that before, so I loved every moment of it. I was on my way and felt like nothing could stop my momentum, but COVID-19 surely did.

2020: Everything Came to a stop, Opportunity Given

I can remember the day like it was yesterday, I was doing event security across the street from my apartment. It was a KSU Lacrosse game going on and suddenly, the match stopped. The outbreak had begun. March 11, 2020, was the day all activities stopped, and Covid-19 had taken over the United States. I was absolutely scared because of the effect it was having on people. They were dying for a sickness that at the time had no vaccine to cure. I still had to go to work because we had a “Government Official Job,” bunch of bullshit if you ask me, we could have worked from home but nonetheless grateful to have a job. I withdrew from classes because I did not feel safe at the time and decided to take some summer school classes online instead. I took four and passed with a 3.5 GPA. I went from fifty-two credits to ninety-one credits in a year time. I was a senior and looking forward to graduation in the spring but as always, another hurdle appeared. I could not get financial aid because I did not apply for it in enough time to be reviewed for the fall but the spring, I would be able to get it. I had to sit out this semester because I was not going to pay out of pocket another 3300 dollars. I sat back and wondered what can I do? I was writing for The Peak, our school magazine, and I had to stop that because I was not enrolled in classes.

So, with all the articles that got published into the magazine, I emailed those out to twenty-five different publications and got a reply from one. It was John Bandrowski, Sports Editor from the Marietta Daily journal, he asked me would you like to cover some High School football? I said “Hell Yeah, I would. I was not making much but I knew if I could get some local experience and cover some games, I could build a portfolio. Thus, an opportunity was given to me, and I took full advantage of it. I knew 2021 was going to be my year to receive my college degree and my transition to being a sports reporter.

2021: From Homeless to Owning This, a college Degree

This year started off with a bang and ended in the same way. With me talking about all these years, this one was my favorite but also the hardest. I took an overload of classes in the spring of 2021, taking twenty-one credits, working full-time at the lottery still and now doing sports reporting for basketball like I did for football in the previous season. Every article I wrote I got paid seventy-five dollars. I would do 2-3 a week covering games. Kennesaw State did not make things easy. They were reluctant to give me an overload since it was my first time asking and my already busy schedule. I know me though and cannot nobody on the planet tell me what I cannot do. So, I convinced them otherwise to let me have the overload but also insisted that I needed a summer overload too. With the semester in spring, it left me with five classes to take to graduate with my degree and minor. I needed a summer overload of fifteen credits to do this. KSU said I needed to prove I can manage the workload, so they said if I did not make a B average GPA in all my classes no overload will be provided for summer. I said that is a bunch of bullshit. I was not happy and let everyone in that office know it. KSU proceeded to call security and I got a message on my phone. I did not care about that; I cared about graduating college so nonetheless the challenge was accepted. Not only did I make a B average but made a 3.57 in my seven classes (4 A is, 3 B’s). They knew after the pressure they put on me, what to go kiss but I digressed. I was at 112 credits and had only five more classes to go. I signed up for four and needed one more class to complete my minor but again more roadblocks! The class was closed. There are only two options and one of them was a Maymester, y’all know Maymester classes are brutal. 16 weeks’ worth of class condensed into two weeks. I already had signed up for one maymester as well. I had to call the English Dept to get this class approved so I could graduate in July. They did so. I had two Maymester classes and worked my ass off to passed them with an A and B. I had three classes left with my capstone covering a summer baseball league where the Atlanta Crackers play at Kennesaw State baseball field Stillwell Stadium. I had completed all my assignments and classes, now it was time to graduate.

The coolest thing about it was how happy my mother was to watch me walk across that stage. Just five years ago I was sleeping in town Center Mall, walking the streets at night sneaking into apartments and sleeping in the lounge area. I could barely eat and afford anything, had clothes stolen from me but with the help of loved ones and me maturing as an individual, I was able to accomplish my goals of graduating. My little brother Trevon did so that Spring and in the summer, I flew to NY for a joint graduation party for both of us. One of my proudest moments was him and I holding our degrees being pictured. I then would get an offer to be a sports reporter full-time based on all the work I did in college on sports radio, magazines and locally in Atlanta. I had five different offers but chose to come to Minnesota, a place now I will never forget. The end of 2021 signified the end of my time at Intralot. I had been there since April of 2016, I built a lot of friends and connections, they threw a going away party for me. It was an ending to a new beginning and off to Minnesota I went.

2022 and Beyond: Life is good.

In January 2022 I drove cross country on a 21-hour trip to the state of Minnesota, where I was fulfilling my dream of being a sports reporter. From that date on, I have covered state champions, had my article on the front page of a newspaper, traveled across Minnesota and have done production for ESPN. I have come a long way and still have a long way to go but I am not forgetful of who helped me to reach my goals. I stay humble and appreciative of everything my family and friends have done/continue to do for me. My character is built through tough times and has shaped me into the person I am today. I say the word beyond because although I have been through it, you still have not seen anything yet… The story continues.