Before he was a household name boasting his own iconic shoe brand and six NBA championship rings, he was a 17 year old kid just like me. We’ve all heard the story of how MJ would shoot 100 free throws everyday to become the best basketball player he could be. I know what you must be thinking – here we go again with another teenaged boy raving about their dreams to be a star athlete. In reality, I play varsity basketball and will undoubtedly make a fool of myself every time I step on the court, which is not a common occurrence to begin with. All of that goes to say that as of right now, there is no passion burning a pit in my stomach. I don’t lose sleep over aspirations in sports, music, or becoming an astronaut. For me, the most important thing is to live a full life, enjoying myself along the way, and when my time is up, having left behind a positive mark on those who mattered to me the most. 

    When it comes to living a full life, it’s important to make sure that you have enough time to accomplish all that you want to accomplish, and the way to do that is to make sure to stay healthy. As an added bonus, many habits that contribute to good overall health are practices that thoroughly enjoy. Being active, for example, is a surefire way to keep yourself in good shape, and also happens to be something that contributes a great deal to my overall happiness. I’ve always valued sports in particular, growing up playing hockey at a high level, and playing a variety of other sports when back injuries brought my hockey career to an end. In addition to being active, proper nutrition is a concept that I couldn’t live without. At the end of the day, I want to make sure that when my time in the workforce expires, I am healthy enough to do what brings me the most joy, and that will definitely require more fitness than just swinging a golf club.

    In order to be able to leave a lasting impression on the people in my life, I will have to expand my knowledge in a plethora of categories. A university degree will not only help me in getting a job, but will also provide me with a new set of skills to be applied in my own life, and to be passed onto future generations of Richardsons. In case you couldn’t tell already, I am quite family oriented, and there are few things as important to me as providing my children, and my children’s children, with all the tools that they need to live a fulfilling life themselves. This includes a stable financial situation, as well as a strongly imposed moral code, among other things. One thing in particular that I hope to expand on in the future is my artistic awareness, specifically music. I took piano lessons for many years, and have since taught myself to play the guitar at an intermediate level. It is of the utmost importance to me that my children grow up in a culturally rich environment, and an appreciation for the arts is something to be highly encouraged . 

    At the end of the day, what I am the most passionate about is ensuring that when people think of Sam Richardson, their thoughts are exclusively positive. I am passionate about making friends laugh, teaching younger generations what I know to be true, and enjoying myself along the way. To sum things up, if people in the future were to write stories about me, I want to make sure that I would be one of the good guys.