The Blue Fish

In my Pilot Post (http://dailypurpleotter.blogspot.com/2011/09/pilot-post.html), I mentioned that my nickname in High School was The Blue Fish. Let me share with you how I got that name.

My Track & Field coach had a thing for nicknames, and it was brilliant. Names like The Most Dangerous Man in the World, The Evil Tomahawk, and The Irish Hand Grenade are some examples. I remember the exact moment when my coach game me my nickname. We were sitting in the stands at the Armory Track and Field Center when he proceeded to tell me a story.

He explained that the Blue Fish was a nickname that had deep meaning behind it. He asked me, "Have you ever tried to catch a blue fish?" I responded, "Yes."

He told me how I was just like a blue fish. If someone wanted to attempt to catch me, it would be a battle, no matter what, and that I would fight hard until the very end. From that point forward, he inspired me to live up to my nickname.

Today, one of my teammates brought up something very noteworthy. He reminded me that now that I'm in college, we can no longer refer to the past, because college is a new start. No one cares what you did back then, what matters is now. It does not matter who was better or worse than you then, because it is a new beginning. A part of my heart will always be a blue fish, but it's time to buckle down—I'm swimming in a new sea.