By
Turner Johnson
Soccer has been a passion of mine ever since I discovered it around 3rd or 4th grade. It's an easy outlet to fuel my competitive spirit and get in plenty of exercise. I play soccer for Real Colorado and have played on they're Olympico team up until last year. However I was not always only Olympico; in fact I started 2 teams down on white. Nevertheless, I worked my way up over the course of three years. Soccer has always been very exciting for me and it's been a common occupant of a majority of my free time in my young life. I see my passion for it wavering but it is still very fun to play and I don't see that changing any time soon.
Basketball is a newly found love of mine that is slowly taking my preference over soccer. The irony of this is that if I hadn't torn my ACL and miniscus playing soccer I might not have ever spent all the down time watching and developing a deep interest in basketball. It has become somewhat of an obsession in a very interesting way. Not to sound self righteous or overconfident but in just about every other sport that I've tried I've been pretty decent right of the bat; but basketball is the one sport that I was absolutely horrible at in the beginning. Now this was a little discouraging at first; but I discovered that with much hard work and dedication you are garunteed to see results. I happen to be a competitive person and thus dynamic is profoundly satisfying and addictive for me. To build on this, I am by no means a complete player. In fact, I'm am lacking in many basketball fundamentals as I picked up the sport late and had to teach myself with only the help of YouTube videos (the link is to my favorite trainer's website). This motivates me to always improve my game and I am undoubtedly excited to test my skills for the Thunderidge basketball team this winter.
I tore my ACL and miniscus in late September of last year and it has changed my life in many ways. I won't describe the details of obtaining my injury; but I will briefly explain the procedure to fix my knee and the impact this injury had on not just the way I lived but also many of my philosophies about the way I lived my life. So, on December first 2016 I had reconstructive surgery on the torn ACL and miniscus in my left knee. The surgery involved using a piece of of my quad tendon to replace the torn segment of my ACL and using dissolvable sutures to mend my torn miniscus. The recovery can take anywhere from 8 to 12 months, and as you can most likely imagine, that was devastating news for a young athlete. But in the end, it is entirely possible that more good came out if this injury than bad. To start, it has exponentially improved my work ethic and it has made me relish physical activity and going to the gym. Although it may have taken nearly a year off of my sports, it has made me a better overall athlete who thrives for the opportunity to push his limits.
I am actually biracial, although many people assume I am fully black. My dad is African American and my mom is Caucasian. I used be embarrassed of being too white or too black, but as I've matured I've come to embrace my individuality. However I have found myself identifying as black more and more because that's the way people see me. It's and interesting experience to be one of the only black kids in a predominantly white place but it makes me appreciate any diversity and I how found that almost by default, I'm very accepting of other cultures and beliefs. There is not much more I feel comfortable going into about the subject of my race with people I don't really know so this is about all I can say for this one.
I've lived with dogs my entire life and I can truly say I ironically believe that dogs are the best animals in the world. I have 2 dogs named Yoda and George and they are unquestionably loyal and loving. Everyone time I come home they are as excited as if they hadn't seen me in a month. They are always loving and protectful of my family no matter what it takes. I know either of my dogs would gladly die if it meant anyone in my family could live on. Dogs are creature with admiral qualities almost to a fault and that's what makes the so spectacular.
I am a dog person. But my mom recently got two cats named Cricket and Taz who I have had to learn to live with. At first I hated them, but I have learned to tolerate them and almost even love them, but not quite. Cats are very weird animals that are very different than dogs. They lack just about every good quality dogs have. The result is them appearing to be aloof or pompous, which is commonly mistaken for intelligence. I can't say I'm a fan of cats and I don't have much to say about them; but one thing they do have is that they never cease to interest me with their odd tendencies and behaviors.
