North Carolina State University Athletics
Pop your collar (12/18/08)
12/18/2008 12:00:00 AM | Pack Athletics
Dexter Adams is an ACC-champion and All-American jumper for NC State's track and field team. He was chosen to speak to his fellow graduates Wednesday morning at the athletics department's graduation day breakfast at the Dail Club in Vaughn Towers, along with men's soccer player Ronnie Bouemboue. Adams, now a graphic arts intern for the NC State athletics department and a regular contributor to GoPack.com, delivered this message at the breakfast.
Everyone had their own idea of what it would be here
To sum my expectations up in one word: "fear"
Crippled my ability to reshape the thought
Of why was I here, it seemed I was caught
Shrouded in students in a sea of bricks
Walking through campus made me seasick
To the transition? Listen, I was resistant
Forget a wolf... Early on, I was just chicken
I never outright admitted I didn’t want the commitment,
To something so much bigger than me
But there was something I was missing, mentally skipping
But eventually open my eyes would be
Seeing things different began only when the inner me changed
A new me on the inside made my enemies change
Never realizing onlookers were giving me names
And those sticks and stones, yo, they was giving me pain
A young jock, no brains, two-bit loser wit’ a pencil
Traced up and stamped out the loser-boy stencil
Playing the FYC till he SOL and his credits so scattered he said "oh, well"
Another athlete who threw away the hyphen
Forgot the student came first, thought the sports more exciting
That would have been me, had my focus not changed
I was squinting cause the target was too close for my aim
I realized the battle wasn’t against myself but against failure
I applied competitive concept to school and I prayed like Mahalia
The walk to class was a walk in the park,
(Well, literally, 'cause I walked right by Pullen most days)
Those of you who are here are really a chosen few
Contrary to whatever belief that this was promised to you
A lot of us will go on to do bigger and better things
But it all boils down to what’s up here
Whether you’re in ball shorts or slacks with a seem
It all boils down to what you did here
So walk with confidence and walk with a self esteem
And just know that if they don’t except you we’re still a part of team
That red-and-white block S
That’s on our attire
Say that we pledge Pack
'til the day we die
We stay tucked in
And we stay fresh to death
If you know you’re with the Pack
Pop your collar say "yes"
