I used to believe that my script had already been written: as my FA progresses and my symptoms get worse, my life would decline with it. But on Saturday, I continued to disprove that narrative as I walked across the stage and graduated from Auburn University.

The biggest thing I take away from my time in college is that I can’t keep FA from getting worse, but my life still can and will get better; my best is still yet to come. Even after a devastating diagnosis that took my passion of sports away from me in high school, I was able to find new direction and purpose for my life in my time at Auburn.

Playing sports was what I intended to do with my life, but God is using my love for sports for a greater purpose. That purpose for my life never changed, FA just changed how I accomplish it. In all my years playing sports, I never did anything as impactful as what I did at Auburn. I never had such a strong platform to make an impact before I was in journalism, and I think having FA gives me the opportunity to make the most of that platform. Most of what I wrote about for the Plainsman and elsewhere was sports, but nothing was more impactful than when I used my platform as a sports writer to raise up issues that flew under the radar and went unreported otherwise.

Getting involved in journalism helped show me that my purpose in life isn’t diminished by FA – if anything, it elevates the true impact I’m able to make on others. Through my writing, change was made, empathy was spread and voices were heard. I am confident that the accessibility changes that were made at Auburn are just the start of the difference journalism is going to give me the platform to make.

Of course, the question everyone asks me at graduation is: “Do you know what you’re doing next?” Well, the answer right now is no. But I am able to be patient knowing that when the right opportunity comes, I’m prepared to take it. At Auburn, I’ve come to realize what I’m capable of, and I know better than to sell myself short.

At Auburn, I not only realized my potential but I realized my own self-worth. I never realized before that it truly does make a difference what I say. People might just give a crap about it. Just because something isn’t a problem for everyone doesn’t make it insignificant, and just because it doesn’t apply to everyone doesn’t mean they don’t care about it.

That was never more apparent than when I made three appearances on the Paul Finebaum Show. If someone as noteworthy as Mr. Finebaum gives a hoot about what I have to say on a topic outside of sports, maybe there’s something to it. But before I ever wrote that story that blew up, the people at Auburn showed me my worth. My perspective started to shift when people took interest in me. That’s something I didn’t truly feel in high school into my early college days, but when my professors and my friends at school and at the Plainsman invested in me, I started to invest in myself.

And it wouldn’t have mattered without the people who invested in me all along – FA or not. My family and a select few friends supported me way before I did anything to deserve it. Even through the hardest times, the times where I didn’t see my own value, they took interest in me and showed me unconditional love. They’ve seen my FA progress, too, and that hasn’t changed a thing.

With the support I received, I rediscovered my purpose, grew in confidence and started a new journey with a new perspective. Those are things FA can never take away as long as I keep fighting the disease. Disease progression isn’t the main determinant of my quality of life. I walked across the stage unassisted to get my high school diploma, but using a walker to cross the stage at Auburn didn’t make it any less fulfilling – it might’ve just added to it.

Auburn didn’t give me a new situation, it helped me form a new perspective. I came a long way in my path to college graduation, but I know it’s only a precedent of what’s to come.

Onward and upward we go.