Letter to all All Saints' Seniors

Dear seniors at ASES,

Right now you think you're on top of the world, so enjoy it. Next year when you're freshmen, however, you're going to feel completely lost. At times, it can be intimidating, but stick with it because the reward is worth the wait.

Enjoy every minute of it because, much like high school, it all goes by so fast. Accept every experience you're offered because, in college, a whole new world is opened up to you. Take the good and the bad because it is here where you will truly develop the personality traits that will define who you are for the rest of your life.

Sincerely,
Will Collins

Bystander

Last year I witnessed an accident while driving to a morning football practice. I didn't stop to offer help even though I'm certified in CPR because I saw that other cars had stopped and I was running late. Later that night on the local news, I saw that one of the men had died. I'm not sure that if I had stopped it would have made the outcome different, but I wish I could go back and try.

I can't think of a specific time I wish a bystander had stepped in and helped me, but I do know that I wish it had happened a few times during middle school and my freshman year in high school.

I believe that college students don't step in to risky situations is because they're afraid of what will happen if they do. They don't want to be considered the "designated cock-block" or be that person who starts the drama at parties. If they saw someone out on the south oval in trouble, they might not interfere because they don't want to cause problems for themselves.

I've been raised to help those who need it. It's an alien concept to me to not help those in need. I've tried to understand it, but I can't. I don't pass judgment or anything like that. I just don't get it.

My Priorities...

When I was in high school, I'd say I was focused on having fun with my friends while I could and to get into a good college. Since I've been at OU, I've realized that there are more important things. I want to learn all I can because I like to be considered intelligent. Since I've joined a fraternity, I have come to realize that I want a leadership position in it and that I will work hard to make sure I can achieve that goal one day. C;ear;y I want to graduate from OU with a degree in some field and be successful (and while I'll be working for that for at least four years..), I want to make friendships that will last me a lifetime.

Influenced by...

My high school football coach, Aaron Beck, influenced me more than anyone else. He convinced me to play football when I had convinced myself I didn't want to play anymore and for that I will always be grateful. Through football, he taught me how the amount of work I put into my goals will be paralleled by the joy I receive from the results of my work. However, we would have a one-on-one meeting once a week to discuss what was going on in my life. It would help me vent or brag about what was affecting me personally. He truly expressed an interest in all of his players lives. He would make us read a quality of a famous leader out of one of his books and the night before our game, we (as seniors) would each have to explain what that quality meant to us and how we changed ourselves over the week because of it. It really helped me understand what it meant to be a leader.

About me

I grew up in Fort Worth, Texas. Greatest town ever. I went to All Saints' Episcopal School for all thirteen years and loved every... well almost every minute of it. :)

I love to hunt, swim and pretty much do everything outdoors. I'm a pretty good gamer. I say that, but I'll get my butt kicked the minute you ask me to prove it. Haha.

I'm currently a freshman at OU. I've never had this much fun and I've only been here 4 weeks.