An Accident of Choice, by steven catapano

Coleman Marshall Bacon is in many ways an average twenty year old college student from Fairfax, Virginia. The last name begs the question, are you related to Kevin Bacon? “haha no I am not, sorry to say.” In Coleman’s free time he likes to hang out with friends, watch movies, play video games, and sports. He played Basketball and Soccer, and got accolades for both. He has dreamed of coming to Virginia Tech for as long as he can remember, but most people would have never guessed that he didn’t get into Tech his first time around.

In high school, Coleman had the time of his life. He had a close knit group of friends which he has kept in touch with. He played shooter guard as number forty four in basketball, and was captain of the varsity team. The best experience from high school to him was coming out to a sold out gym on Friday night. He also played soccer, “I was actually better at that.” He was the captain of his soccer varsity team too. As well as he did in soccer basketball is his all time favorite sport.

Coleman considers him-self a huge sports fanatic. He has been a huge Tech fan for as long as he can remember. Mainly due to that him and his father sat down every Saturday and watched the VT football games. But the Hokies are not the only team he roots for. “Being from Fairfax, right outside the DC area, I love the Washington teams,” Redskins in the NFL, the Wizards in the NBA, and the Capitals in the NHL. With the Redskins being 2-5 this year, the Wizards 5-4, and the Capitals at 7-4, it’s not the worst year for the Washington teams but not the greatest. Everything he does seems to revolve around sports. From when he hangs out with his friends to what type of video games he plays, they all revolve around sports in some way. He spends the majority of his weekends watching sports on TV. Every morning wakes up and turns on Sports Center as he gets ready for his day. Every Sunday he watches each football game praying for his team to win.

Sports are not the only thing that has a big impact on his life. Coleman’s family, friends and religion play an important role in it as well. His family, who love him very much, raised him to be a hard working dedicated and caring person. His friends, of whom he shares his time with, care that he not only succeeds in his goals but believe that he is smart enough and capable of exceeding his set goals. He is a very religious person mainly because of his family. His mom often argues the importance of going to Sunday mass. According to my sources, Coleman is a very relaxed person. He doesn’t let many little things worry him. He is a very competitive person as well. He loves playing sports with his friends. Whether its football basketball or some weird sport that they made up; he will always find a reason to join in.

Finally! College application time! Coleman saw it as his time to shine. Having decent grades and plenty of extracurricular activities, he frantically fills out his college application for his dream school, Virginia Tech. He has wanted to go to Tech as long as he can remember. Finishing out his senior year of high school, he anxiously awaits the answer on whether he was accepted to Virginia Tech. Opening his mailbox; he sees the letter sitting there on top of bills flyers and circulars. He grabs the mail and runs inside. He carefully opened the letter so not to tear it. He reads the print on the page and as he reads his heart sank. He did not get in. Right then he knew what he needed to do. He quickly accepted the “easiest” college’s acceptance, put sports off to the side and focused on his grades so he could obtain his ultimate goal of an acceptance letter from Virginia Tech. He was disappointed in himself for not working harder to attain his goals. He unfortunately had to give up other things like possibly playing soccer for a division one team, or basketball for a division three team. Most would just give up on their college dream and just go work, but not Coleman. He worked harder than ever. Doing extremely well in his classes at the college he decided to attend, he reapplied to Virginia Tech in the following fall. This time he gained acceptance. Jumping for joy with his acceptance letter in hand, he finally accomplished his ultimate goal by hard work and dedication.

Coleman is a fine example of dedication to what someone wants and how to obtain it. He is a caring and nurturing person. He cares about his family, friends, girl friend, teammates, and the people he affiliates with. Though he didn’t make it into Virginia Tech the first time he applied because of his grades, he made it a point to get in. He also made it a point to put school before many unnecessary obligations like intramural sports. He should be commended for his hard work and dedication. “I may not have a career goal, but my ultimate goal is to be happy. As long as I keep in good standing with my friends, family, and religion I feel that I will never fail to accomplish that goal.”