College is the short time you have before true reality hits. We have the chance to make our own choices; good or bad. We’ve all made a choice in college that we maybe didn’t want the world to find out. Even Olympian Michael Phelps. We all remember the Phelps pot scandal, the photo being passed around of him smoking at a house party at the University of South Carolina. Regardless of your stance on weed, it is an illegal substance in South Carolina. In honor of the summer Olympics and the new school year, let's break it down.
November 2008. Phelps visits the University of South Carolina. He attends a football game and later a house party on Blossom St. (Keep in mind Phelps is already a 14-time Olympic gold medalist. He is 23 and is rumored to be dating a girl at the University.)
February 2009. A British newspaper releases of Phelps smoking a bong, at that house party in Columbia, SC. Phelps apologized and promised to continue to work hard for the American people. He began to train for his next olympian debut.
He even forgave the kid who leaked his photo saying, “That kid’s gotta look at himself in the mirror every day. Karma’s a bitch. For me, it’s like, yeah, I messed up. I made a choice to do that. Nobody twisted my arm to do anything. I put myself in that position. And somebody took a picture of me. The thing for me is that I understand — doing what I’ve done — I’ve essentially written away privacy.”
London Summer Olympics 2012. Phelps becomes know as the greatest swimmer of all time, and in many opinions, the greatest olympian of all time. He wins four more gold medals.
As a junior at the University of South Carolina, watching the Rio 2016 Olympics, I am proud that Michael Phelps swims for the United States. I am proud that he had a good time at the school I attend. Now a 26-time Olympic medalist, Phelps truly proves that you are not the mistakes you make. In Rio, he has brought home five more gold medals and one silver. This may be his last Olympics, but he has made history. The greatest swimmer of all time is in fact human.(Even though I believe he might be part merman). All of us are human, prone to make mistakes. As many of us start the school year, remember: you might mess up, you might fail and you might feel like that one mistake has ruined your potential. It hasn’t. Keep your head up, always strive to be the best you can be, move on, and watch yourself achieve greatness.
“Things won’t go perfect. It’s all about how you adapt from those things and learn from mistakes.” -Michael Phelps
