What is the Right Crowd?
College athletes are a unique breed. They are generally quite popular and have friends from many different social groups. Girls love them, guys want to be them. However, it's quite easy to fall into the wrong crowd and end up being not so great! Jared knows all about this, as he ended up in the wrong crowd. Here's a bit more about what happened to Jared.
Jared didn't know anyone when he started college hundreds of miles away from home. He had the football team, but everyone was quite new so they weren't really friends yet. Jared was a very good student. He was self-motivated, academically gifted, hard-working and more. He was the kind of high school student who any teacher would love to have and he hoped that proved to be the case in college. However, Jared's roommate was of a different kind of unique. He was a procrastinator and barely seemed to slide by in high school. He didn't have very high ambitions and most of his good time was spent with girls at parties.
As Jared got to know Keith a bit better, he began to go to different parties with him and spend more time with him. However, Jared noticed that Keith had no time designated for studying, classes, etc. As Jared would just crack a book to begin studying, Keith would run in saying they needed to go to a particular party or that some really cute girls were coming over. Jared couldn't seem to find time to do anything. He was having fun, but he was letting his studies slip and he felt guilty. Before too long, the parties and the procrastination started showing up in his grades. Finally, Jared realized that enough was enough.
In high school, Jared's friends were very similar to him. They all had high goals, they valued education and learning and they wanted to make a great career out of the things he loved. He realized that when he had spent time with those friends, they had fun in a different way than he and Keith did. So, he started finding friends more like the ones he had back in high school. He felt good when he finally got to know some people with similar interests. He had forgotten how motivating friends could be for each other.
The two of them studied together and challenged each other to be better, stronger and faster. It was a very rewarding relationship and they learned a lot from each other. In no time, his grades were back to top-notch and when Keith wanted to go to a party, Jared stayed home. He felt as if he had accomplished something and knowing that his friends were of the same mindset, he did wonderfully. Keith, on the other hand, failed and left college. He is now paid minimum wage for a very stressful job that he doesn't enjoy. Stay focused and surround yourself with like-minded individuals and you will succeed!