Reggie Simon: “An Easy Life is a Boring Life”

By Megan Lehew, Engl 336

Reggie Simon

 When you first meet Reggie, you will immediately notice his personality, and part of that personality has no doubt been shaped by the struggles that he has had to overcome in his life. He says that, “when I was two years old, a mirror fell on my head and split my head wide open.” His struggles continued into high school, where he began to lose sight of his academic goals and by 12^th grade, only had a 10^th grade amount of credits. Reggie realized at this point that he needed to focus and get the work done, and he did. He says he, “did eight classes in day school, 2 classes online school, and 2 classes in night school in one year just to graduate on time.” Additionally, Reggie also used to play several sports, including basketball and football, but that his doctors have told him he will never play competitively again due to an injury that left him with eight screws and a metal plate holding his fibula bone together. This hasn’t stopped him from dreaming of sports, however; he says he, “plays sports video games to keep my dream alive.” But his dreams don’t stop there: upon graduation from Frostburg State University (FSU), Reggie hopes to use his Mass Communications major to do something sports-related, whether it’s becoming a sports analyst, starting a sports talk show, or even working in television. He also wants to start a Boys & Girls Club for young men and women who are out of school for the summer, or too young to be in school – or maybe even who are being raised by a single parent who needs some extra help. He hopes to use his eventual notoriety to help others achieve their dreams, just as he hopes to achieve his own.

 
Along with his dreams, though, Reggie does have some fears. “My worst fear is doing something for my life that I now I don’t want to do,” in regards to taking a job only because he needs the money. He hopes that whatever he does after graduating, he will be passionate about and will not have to change his personality to fit a certain pre-conceived mold that the employer may have for him. In spite of this, however, Reggie says he remembers that, “life is not meant to be easy,” and that the best things will come to those who work for it and continually try to make themselves better. It is clear that Reggie is already on this path of self-improvement and it appears that he will continue to persevere and achieve his dreams.