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Transcript of Collin Brand
"When you want to succeed as bad as you want to breathe, then you'll be successful." - Eric Thomas
My overall theme is success, and that
fighting through hard times and putting
in hard work will get you anywhere that
you want to go.
Success Table of Contents 1
Meaning of Life +
Time Capsule
2
Most Influential Per-
son + Roles
3
Major Changes +
What will it miss
most
4
Achievements De-
fining Moment +
future goals
5
Top 10 6
Top 10 7
Magazine Pop cul-
ture
8
News Article Sandy
Hook + News that
affected You
9
ART—photograph
Art+ song lyrics
10
My theme for my portfolio is success. I believe that if you work
hard enough, your dreams can come true. For the naysayers that
think we should all just strive to fit in or be content with medi-
ocrity, they probably just never tried hard enough to make their
dreams come true. Success can mean a lot of different things to
a lot of different people, but I can tell you for sure, that you will
never achieve anything worth having if you are willing to give
up when things get hard. You have to persevere when things get
hard and never give up on something you want, and that will
make you a stronger person.
The meaning of Life…..
Time Capsule
Senior Yearbook: Our senior yearbook would remind me of the styles of 2013 and what we did and what we
looked like. Our senior yearbook is significant because it shows all of my friends and activities I’ve been involved in
at Fishers. I have known some of the people since elementary school and when I open the yearbook I could see the
people that provided me with a memorable high school experience.
State championship medal: I would put my 2010 state championship medal for football in my time capsule. The
state championship medal would remind me of all my years playing football since first grade and especially through
high school. It is significant because athletics are such a huge part of my life. Football has given me some of my fa-
vorite high school memories and friendships I will keep with me for the rest of my life.
iPod: My iPod would tell a lot about the person I am because it would have all of my music on it. I believe that mu-
sic changes the world. Music brings happiness to people and can make you experience every emotion; it has the po-
tential to change your mood or keep a song stuck in your head all day. When I open the time capsule I could remem-
ber all the songs that I used to listen to and the emotions associated with them.
Phone: My phone is one of my most important possessions to me right now. It is so important to me that when I
can’t feel it in my pocket my heart skips a beat and I panic thinking that I’ve lost it. My phone would have conversa-
tions with those I’m closest with and pictures of vacations from the past four years since I have had the same phone
since 2008.
Cross: A Cross is significant because it is a very important part of my life. I was raised in a Christian home and it is
a very big part of who I am and how I aspire to live my life. No one is perfect but we should all try to live like God.
When all else fails, God brings me peace and comfort.
Page 2 Col l in Brand
“Success is walking
from failure to failure
with no loss of
enthusiasm.” Winston
Churchill
Most Influential Person
Roles
Legs quivering, body aching, I rolled out of bed and
slapped the alarm clock which showed three heartbreak-
ing numbers, 5:15. Three days a week, all summer long
this was the routine. My goal was to get another gold
medal complimented by a sapphire blue ribbon placed
around my neck. Coach Farrell was the coach of the de-
fensive backs at Fishers High School. The players he
coached had an air of swagger and confidence about
them that other teams lacked. When I was a scrawny
sophomore weighing in at an unintimidating 130 pounds,
I asked him what I needed to do to be a state champion-
ship caliber player. He said, “It’s very simple Collin, get
stronger, and be coachable.” These words were motiva-
tion to be the best I could and to never lose an oppor-
tunity to get better. Coach Farrell stayed with me, en-
couraged me, and most importantly believed in me. He
has taught me values and life skills through football that
are hard to learn anywhere else. After our last game he
said, “Continue to work as hard at life as you did on the
football field and you will have a bright future.” Not
only have I changed physically through training, but I am
now more mature and level-headed, and I tried to give
younger kids someone to look up to. (222)
As an older brother it is important for me to set an example for my younger brother
who is a freshman here at Fishers. It is the responsibility of the older brother to show
their younger siblings the ropes and keep them out of trouble and to protect them
from anything that might cause them trouble. It is my responsibility to try and help
whenever I can. I think my main responsibilities are to keep him out of trouble, and
set an example of how to be a man. My brother and I are both athletes at Fishers and
I have told him how important it is to work hard and set a good example. I put pres-
sure on him to lift hard, attend all the workouts that he can, and make sure that he gets
his weight up by taking healthy supplements and getting proper nutrition to help gain
weight and muscle mass without gaining fat too. Of course I still push him around and
let him know who’s boss, but that is helping to make him tough and is something eve-
ry older brother does whether it is with good intentions or not. The disadvantages are
constantly being annoyed and the advantages are having someone look up to you.
(210)
Page 3 Col l in Brand
When most people look at their freshmen yearbook picture, they feel a mix of humor and shame. The big-
gest changes I’ve experienced and witnessed in high school has been how different everyone looks. Even
more so if you would look at what you looked like in Jr. High during “the awkward stage” you would ask
yourself “why did I even go out in public?” When guys leave Jr. High and enter the first year or two of
high school, we trade in voice cracks, pimples, and Xbox, for muscle tone, facial hair, and girls. Since my
freshmen year I have grown 5 inches and gained fifty pounds. It is weird to walk around the hallways now
as a senior and be one of the bigger people walking around as opposed to being a freshmen who had to
look up to make eye contact with anyone. The major changes that I noticed were everyone growing up
physically and maturing. It’s hard to notice a jump in maturity day by day, but when you compare how
your friends act now to who they were 4 years ago, you’ll realize that they changed for the better. (193)
Major Changes
What you will miss most
I don’t want to sound like that stereotypical dumb jock that only talks about sports, but ath-
letics are a huge part of who I am as a person. It is what I love to do, it is what my friends
love to do, and it is what I spend most of my time doing. When people look at me, they
probably think I’m just one of the football guys. Don’t get me wrong, being a football player
is something I am extremely proud of and it is a huge part of my identity, but I’d like to be
remembered for more than what I have done under the Friday night lights. Everyone wants
people to have fond memories of them, and I think it is really hard to judge yourself accu-
rately and without bias. When we have all graduated and moved on from Fishers High
School, I hope I will have left a lasting impression on my football team as a hard worker and
a leader who went out of their way to help people, and tried to give underclassmen someone
to look up to. My sarcasm can be taken the wrong way, but hopefully it isn’t mistaken for
rudeness. (200)
Success comes from knowing that
you did your best to become the best
that you are capable of becoming.
John Wooden
Page 4 Col l in Brand
Defining Moments and Triumph
Future Goals
The game was over. The clock showed all zeros in the
fourth quarter and we had beaten Hamilton Southeastern
42 to 7 on their own field in the sectional tournament. It
was a blowout, and they were devastated. They now faced
the realization that some of them would never play foot-
ball again. Our seniors last year faced the same fate at the
hands of Hamilton Southeastern. Tears were rolling down
their faces as we shook hands and we went over to cele-
brate with each other and our fans that came to support
us. The atmosphere was surreal, we had beaten a team that
was favored to win the game and we survived to advance
in the sectional tournament. The most rewarding feeling is
when hard work finally pays off and on the bus ride home
we reminisced of those 6am workouts all summer long. At
the time, there was nothing we would have rather done
than sleep in like all the other kids, but we knew the op-
portunities that lay ahead of us, and those painful memo-
ries of waking at before the sun is up were replaced with
visions of grandeur as we continued to strive towards our
goal that was one step closer now, and that goal was to
win another state championship. (214)
May 31st of this year I will take a huge step towards completing my goal of get-
ting a college degree by graduating high school. I have already been accepted
into Indiana University’s pre business school and plan on attending Indiana Uni-
versity next fall. My goals for the future are to graduate from the Kelley School
of Business at IU which is widely recognized as one of the top business schools
in the country. This is the biggest goal that I am working towards right now be-
cause up to this point, my focus has been on keeping my grades high enough to
get into the Kelley School. I made the decision not to try and play sports in col-
lege and instead focus solely on academics. I think this was my first big step in
trying to achieve my goal because all through high school I’ve played two sports
and that has taken up a lot of time I could have been studying, not including the
times I haven’t been at practice but have been too tired to do homework. I think
what I have to do is really not get caught up in college life and stay serious about
my education because that’s the reason I’m going to college is to get a degree.
(213)
Page 5 Col l in Brand
#1. Vincent Jackson, better known as Bo Jackson, is the
greatest athlete of all time. He was the first to be named an
All-Star in two professional American sports. He also won
the Heisman trophy in 1985. He still has the record for the
fastest 40-yard dash time at an NFL combine and his speed
qualified him for the U.S. Olympic trials but he chose to pur-
sue baseball, and his “hobby sport” football, instead. Bo
Jackson dominated two sports and could have run in the
Olympics, making him the greatest
#2. Michael Phelps, from a sheer domination standpoint, deserves to be on the top
of this list. In the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Phelps won 8 gold medals which is
more than any other athlete. Those 8 gold medals that he won were also faster
than any swimmer ever as he set 8 world records. Phelps is also the most decorat-
ed Olympic athlete of all time proving his dominance in the sport of swimming.
#3. Usain Bolt, a very fitting name for the fastest man alive. Actually,
Bolt is the fastest human being ever. He holds the world records for
the 100 and 200 meter dash, with times of 9.58 in the 100m, and 19.19
in the 200m, and is part of the 4x100 meter relay world record team.
#4. The iconic number 23, His Airness, Black Cat, Air Jordan, MJ, and the greatest
of all time. Michael Jordan is the best basketball player to ever step on the hard-
wood. Jordan scored 38 points in game 5 of the NBA finals, if that isn’t impressive
enough, he had food poisoning. Jordan was a true competitor and a winner who
changed the sport forever.
#5. Muhammad Ali, born Cassius Clay, was a three-time heavyweight champ
and was undefeated until he was unjustly stripped of his title for refusing to
serve in the U.S. army. Ali left the sport of boxing for 3 and a half years and
regained his championship belt over George Foreman. Ali had blinding
speed, grace, heart, instincts, and the mental toughness that made him the
greatest boxer of all time.
#6. Deion “Primetime” Sanders, had the best speed and agility combina-
tion of any player in the NFL ever. He was the best NFL cornerback ever
and had the ability to take away half the field from a quarterback with his
speed. He played in eight pro bowls, was voted to the 1990 all decade
team, and has two Super Bowl rings. Not to mention he also played base-
ball and was the only man to ever play in a super bowl and a world series.
#7. Lionel Messi is a living soccer legend. Messi has a near perfect
combination of technique, speed, balance and intelligence which give
him the uncanny ability to sprint into a crowd of players and come out
the other side with the ball still at his feet and in complete control. He
has scored over 300 goals in his career for Barcelona and can control a
soccer ball, and change a game like no one else can.
#8. The wannabe number 23 if you ask me. LeBron James is num-
ber 8 on this list and is behind Jordan because he will always be ex-
actly that, behind Jordan. LeBron is an absolute freak of nature He
can run, jump, and dunk with the best of them, and yeah, he finally
got himself a ring and looks to be on track for a pair of rings with
Wade, but the title of the greatest belongs to Mr. Jordan himself.
#9. The most important quality besides the obvious physical ability an athlete
needs to be considered the greatest is the ability to overcome adversity and be
mentally tough. Jesse Owens won 4 gold medals at the 1936 Olympics in
Berlin, Germany under Adolf Hitler’s reign. Jesse Owens proved Hitler’s Ar-
yan race was not dominant and overcame racial discrimination more than any
other athlete has had to overcome.
#10. He has 93 more goals than anybody in hockey history, he has the two high-
est goal scoring seasons in NHL history, and he has over 700 more assists than
anybody else in NHL history. Wayne Gretzky dominated hockey. He was truly
a man among boys in his sport, he was faster, stronger, smarter, and revolution-
ized the game.
I believe social network-
ing is a fantastic way to
stay in touch and check
up on friends and family
every so often, but any-
thing can be toxic in large
enough doses. Facebook,
Twitter, and the newest of
the three, Instagram, are
your “Big Three” of so-
cial media. Kids are now
so caught up on their
phones looking at pictures
or reading tweets that they
forget the company right
in front of them. I’ve seen
couples out on dates where
instead of talking across the
table and enjoying each oth-
er’s company, they are scroll-
ing their lives away on their
phones. Twitter allows for the
false perception that you are
important enough to be worth
“following” and Facebook
allows for the misconception
of popularity when some peo-
ple have upwards of 2,000
friends. They have turned
themselves into faux celebri-
ties and are truly lead actors
in their own fictionalized life
stories. On social networking
they want to look cool and
accepted and feel important
and by getting “likes” on what
they post. The sole purpose is
to get likes and fuel their own
sense of self entitlement. I
think social networks are a
great way to stay in touch, but
it has been turned into a way
for people to brag about their
lives and make them think
they are more important than
they are.(222) Ablow, Keith, Dr. "We Are Raising a Genera-tion of Deluded Narcis-sists." Fox News. FOX News Network, 08 Jan. 2013. Web. 19 May 2013.
“A Generation of Deluded Narcissists.”
A Pop Icon’s Death
The King of Pop, Wacko Jacko, MJ, whatever name you prefer, Mi-
chael Jackson was a pop legend. June 25th, 2009, music lost an inspira-
tion and a legend. “The Love You Saved” for Michael Jackson will
have you saying “I Want You Back” because you realize that, “Black
or White” loving him was as easy as “ABC”. Michael Jackson, despite
the scandals that ended causing him to lose a huge part of his fan base,
revolutionized music. He was truly an icon with his long black hair and
shiny glove. MJ could dance and sing like no one else in the world and
his signature moonwalk drove the crowd crazy, he had star power and
was a true performer. Michael Jackson’s death at age 50 shocked the
world. He died from cardiac arrest due to drug overdose. Even though
Michael Jackson’s image had been tainted with accusations of child
molestation, his funeral packed the Staples Center Arena in Los Ange-
les. He changed the world of music and his death came as a shock and
the King of Pop will always be remembered. (181) Tyrangiel, Josh. "A Pop
Icon's Death: The Talent and the Tragedy." Time. Time News, 25 June 2009. Web. 19 May 2013.
Page 8 Col l in Brand
Sandy Hook Elementary
Tragedy of 9/11
December 15, 2012 is a day that changed the small town of
Newtown, Connecticut forever. 20-year-old Adam Lanza attacked Sandy
Hook elementary and took the lives of 26 people at the school. The
shooter killed 20 students and six adults. Adam Lanza used a .223 cali-
ber rifle and two pistols that belonged to his mother, who he also killed.
The deadly school shooting has left the town devastated and a nation
mourning the lives lost. It has also reignited the endless debate about
gun laws. This issue does not affect the world because most countries
have very strict gun laws so there is no debate on whether they should
tighten them further because they view America’s gun laws as too re-
laxed anyway. The United States is affected by yet another school shoot-
ing and it leaves people asking what it is going to take to restrict gun
laws. How many school shootings is it going to take before we finally do
something about it? The NRA or National Rifle Association is Ameri-
ca’s foremost defender of the second amendment and it’s hard to take
away something that has been in our constitution since the Bill of Rights
was passed. I believe this shooting
makes everyone more scared of
another shooting happening. This
shooting makes me and probably
everyone in my community feel
nervous about this happening
here and less safe at school. (230)
"Sandy Hook Elementary
Shooting: What Happened?" CNN.
Cable News Network, n.d. Web. 16
May 2013.
“Terror cannot prevail.” President George W. Bush vowed to retaliate
against those responsible for the terrorist attacks that took place on Sep-
tember 11, 2001, and said “there will be no distinction between those
who committed the attacks, and those who harbor them.” The attacks on
the world trade center changed America forever. Now you can’t go to an
airport without being reminded of the terrorist attacks that took place on
that day. Security has been heightened everywhere and especially in air-
ports to try and prevent more plane hijackings. I think this made every-
one in the country, and the entire world, feel a little less safe about some
things. You never know when the next terrorist attacks will happen, and
even things like the recent bombings at the Boston marathon make peo-
ple feel less safe. I believe President Bush said it best when he said that it
was a defining moment in American history, and that a country that was
strong like ours would band together because we are strong people. This
happened when I was in second grade and I think it changed everyone.
You learn to deal with tragedy and in the end it makes you tougher. (198)
"Remembering 9/11." National Geographic. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 May 2013.
Page 9 Col l in Brand
“Live life to the
fullest and focus on
the positive.”
-Matt Cameron
On your knees you look up
Decide you've had enough
You get mad, you get strong
Wipe your hands, shake it off
Then you stand, then you stand
Every time you get up
And get back in the race
One more small piece of you
Starts to fall into place
Lyrics Reflection:
This song starts off with him singing
using metaphors to describe feeling
helpless and like all the odds are
against you by saying “You feel like a
candle, in a hurricane.” In the chorus
he says, “Cause when push comes to
shove you taste what you’re made of.
You might bend til you break, cause
it’s all you can take.” He is saying that
everyone goes through hard times in
their life. In the last half of the chorus
he says “on your knees you look up,
You feel like a candle in a hurricane
Just like a picture with a broken frame
Alone and helpless
Like you've lost your fight
But you'll be alright, you'll be alright
[Chorus:]
Cause when push comes to shove
You taste what you're made of
You might bend, till you break
Cause its all you can take
On your knees you look up
Decide you've had enough
You get mad you get strong
Wipe your hands shake it off
Then you Stand, Then you stand
Life's like a novel
With the end ripped out
The edge of a canyon
With only one way down
Take what you're given before its gone
Start holding on, keep holding on
Cause when push comes to shove
You taste what you're made of
You might bend till you break
Cause it's all you can take
decide you’ve had enough, you get
mad, you get strong, wipe your hands
shake it off then you stand.” This song
is so powerful because not only is the
music beautiful to listen to, but be-
cause if you listen and read into the
lyrics they provide meaning and a
strong life lesson. Everyone goes
through life and faces trials but you
have to stand up and fight through
them to find out what you’re made of
which ultimately makes you a stronger
person than you were before and I be-
lieve that we are formed as people
through all of our hard times in life. If
you want to get through something
hard or succeed when things are rough,
you’re going to have to stand up and
face them and work through it.(219)
“Stand” - Rascal Flatts
Art Reflections
From left to right: Kyle, me, Cameron, and Brittany.
Now Kyle is 22 and has graduated from IU, I am 18 and
graduating high school in two weeks, Cameron is a
freshman at Fishers, and my sister Brittany is 25 and just
got her doctorate degree, which I am immensely proud
of my siblings and their accomplishments. This picture
was taken when I was six years old and we were on our
way to visit our grandparents in Florida. There were
countless fights between my siblings and me that took
place in that back seat. It was hard enough for us to not
fight when were at our house, but shove us all in a
cramped car ride for 16 hours and it’s game over. I
know that my siblings have made me who I am today.
Being the third child and the second boy it was hard to
get attention so I assumed the role of the troublemaker
and was also constantly challenging my elders. Con-
stantly being with my siblings and having all of us be
athletic and stubborn, it turns even trivial things into a
competition. I believe competition makes everyone bet-
ter, because if you don’t want to be the best at whatever
you’re doing, then you’re wasting your time doing it.
Yeah my siblings and I fight sometimes, but it’s made
me a stronger person and they’re a huge part of making
me the man I am and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
(248)