Nov. 8, 2016

I knew they wouldn’t want me to just quit and not do anything with my life.

Chris Lammons

Every time I go out on the field, I think about them. I try to play for them as hard as I can.

They died two weeks apart.

I had my mom until the age of 11. My mom suffered from kidney failure. She was on dialysis. It was hard to take in for me, my brothers and my sisters.

When my dad passed from a brain tumor, it was two weeks later. It was funerals back-to-back for me. I was just a young dude in school.

It was hard for me, but I took everything in as motivation. I knew they wouldn’t want me to just quit and not do anything with my life.

I’m really tight with my big sister. She was always like a mother for me, so going to live with her was easy.

I have one little sister, an older sister, and two big brothers. They’re on me, hard. We’re really tight. I try to talk to my little sister a lot. She’s only 11 now. I try to keep her strong and always be there for them. Anything I do, I know they are watching.

I can tell that I am a big inspiration to them. I’m a big role model to my little sister. I can’t make mistakes because I know she’s watching me. I know there are other kids out in the world that want to be like me.

It can be small lessons, but just to overcome small adversity is something I can show others. Something can knock you down, but life is going to keep going, so you have to keep finishing strong.

Being here, I know I accomplished something that not too many people will accomplish. They’re proud of me. Being here helped me grow up as a man. In that transition in life with work and job interviews, just being on time and prepared to go is important.

I expect 100 percent effort. If we give that effort and go hard play after play, I know it will be OK.

When I was little, I just loved to see a smile on their (my parents’) faces. I just try to picture that when I accomplish the many things that I have accomplished.