LC 18

November 14, 2009 was the greatest day of my entire life. It was the culmination of my track career, that followed the most mentally and physically challenging summer of training I’ve ever experienced. I would wake up every day at about 6 am to go run anywhere from 8 to 13 miles, then come home and go straight to work for the entire day. This was my summer; an endless cycle of running, working and sleeping, until school started and I was able to practice with my team. Then it became school, run, then sleep. There were 7 guys on the varsity squad and we were all in the best shape of our lives at that point. We came into the season with confidence and we knew what we wanted. We wanted to be the best. Months and months of training all for one day: the city championship. We were ranked 3^rd in the city and we knew that with low expectations, we’d be performing as underdogs in a low-pressure environment. Curtis and Staten Island Tech held the first two spots and we knew that they’d be beatable, but it wouldn’t be easy. Consistent training, high hopes, and tons of pasta were our main weapons.

When the day of our city championship came, we knew we were destined for success. We knew we had a group of the hardest working guys on the field and we wouldn’t let anyone take away what was rightfully ours. Following the race, the officials slowly tallied up the points to see who won. Eventually, they announced Brooklyn Tech as the new PSAL Cross Country Champions and I almost passed out from sheer joy. I was so happy. We were the best in the city. Two of my teammates actually cried and we felt ultra boss for the next couple weeks of our lives. The second place team was also crying, but they had tears of sadness and disappointment. We beat them by one point and they were our biggest rivals for the entire season. In a way, I felt their pain. Nobody likes to be so close to winning and lose by such a tiny margin. But at the same time, there’s only one winner. That day it was us. That just shows how competitive sports can get at times.

I chose this picture because it shows some of the people that made high school mega awesome for me. These are some of the guys from my varsity squad along with my team manager(the dude in the green) from my high school cross country team. Cross country isn’t the most exciting sport in the world and it can get really painful at times, but these guys made it a worthwhile experience for me. We had countless hours of bro-time and we ran literally thousands of miles together. We were really tight and I would give anything to go through another year with these guys.

I’m Omar Griffin (aka Trey to some people) and I’m one of the one million Brooklyn Tech graduates that decided to attend Baruch. So far, I like the school, but I hate commuting. During high school, I lived about a 20 minute walk from school and now that walk has turned into a 40 minute train ride that involves 3 trains, at the very least. I kinda wish that I had a dorm, but that would be unwise because I’d pay 10k a year to live there, when I could just live at home for free. But it never hurts to dream.

My main concern at Baruch would be maintaining a high average. I’m bad at adjusting to change, as shown by my transition from elementary school to junior high school, and again as I went from junior high school to high school. I’d always have respectable grades until I’d change schools and they’d skydive until I’d become more accustomed to the new school. Hopefully, that will change because I’ve become a lot more studious and mature.

I’m a really laid-back person with a nonjudgmental personality, for the most part. I tend to find really arrogant or pretentious people kind of annoying. Other than that, I can get along with most people. The most dramatic change from high school to college would be the fact that I have to make new friends all over again. Back at Tech, I had my little circle of friends and we were really tight. We went through hell and back together, but then, after the summer, we all went our separate ways and the nostalgia has been hitting me a lot recently. I also have the most amazing girlfriend that decided to go away for college. Ever since high school ended, I haven’t been able to see her everyday, but we’re still really close because she means a lot to me.

When it comes to my free time, I have all sorts of hobbies. My main one is running, but I love all types of sports and activities, except drawing because I can’t draw to save my life. I love to sing, even though my voice is atrocious. I love to dance, run and flip and I LOVE music. That has to be one of the greatest developments of all time. I can’t live without music. I enjoy all genres and artists from Lady Gaga and that lady that sings “Bulletproof” to DMX and Drake. You can never have too much music.