Simeon Respress '21 Recruiting Profile

Personal Essay:

In the summer of 2011, my life was chaotic. Seeing your father leave your brother and mother is hard to bare as a child. Thinking that you’re the reason why he left and how you can make it right leaves a kid lost. When he left, we relocated to Cleaveland, Georgia for a teaching opportunity at the local college for my mom. Coming to Georgia was a challenge for my family as we didn’t know what to do or who to get help from. And to add more stress, a couple of years later, we found out that my kidneys were diminishing quickly. Knowing this malady can take my life left me confused and broken as I didn’t want to die. But, having my family with me and settling more in Georgia helped me realize that there is nothing to be afraid of however, I can cling to life and stay with friends and family. I had to go through a procedure called dialysis in which I had a port that was inserted into my peritoneal cavity and connected to a dialysis machine, where I spent 8-9 hours connected to every night.  But thankfully on June 16, 2016, my biological father donated his kidney which gave me a second chance at life, and for that I am grateful.  The kidney transplant made me stronger, resilient, and grateful for God’s grace. It showed me that I shall never give in to Death’s hand and strive to live! Dialysis was painful, long, and hard with all the pills I had to take. Getting my blood drawn sometimes 2-3 times a day when I was hospitalized or being poked 20 times as they couldn’t find viable veins. It was frustrating not to be able to keep up with my peers. 

In the midst of the dialysis, the pills, the poke, and the constant hospitalizations, I continued to play basketball and run track for both my school and the local recreation club. Having opponents that I knew I could beat or seeing my best friends outrun me while I gasped for air was beyond embarrassing. But, what I have learned through these trials and tribulations from this disease was that my life is precious and I should not give up and should live out my dreams. After this ongoing disease and picking up my self-time and time again, I started to look more closely at my goals by high school year. Many goals that came into my mind were continuing to be a hard worker and submitting to the leadership of a driven coach who will help me reach my dreams. Being an engineer to help improve and create innovative ways of preserving our ocean water and protecting marine life. This desire of mine is my way of giving back to a God who preserved my life. Serving people by cleaning up beaches, oceans, communities, and even a whole country. I plan to achieve these goals by keeping a straightforward path and being concise with every decision that I make. 

During this time of quarantine……. Well for my environmental goal, I am helping out my community by picking up trash throughout the week and picking up bottles at the basketball courts. Another way I am achieving my goals through quarantine is staying in shape to get back into my sports and putting myself out in the sports industries and showing coaches who I am. But in conclusion, I’ve learned how easy it is to experience fear and to see my life falling short. But with God’s loving grace I was able to overcome this affliction and have God guide my life and keep my dreams with me and share his glory on the podium in the Olympics someday.