My dad was born in Providence, but my mom is originally from the Dominican Republic. She moved to New York and then Providence, where she met my dad. I was born here and have lived here my whole life.
I've liked Central for the most part, but my sophomore year they dropped the wrestling team. It made me really angry. I'd put a lot of time and effort into wrestling—like the summer between my freshman and sophomore year, I trained like you wouldn't believe. I was ranked second in the state my sophomore year, and then they just dropped the team. I still represent Central at competitions, but I practice and work out with the guys at Mt. Pleasant.
I started out as a football player, but we were getting beaten so bad that year. So the coach came up to me and he asked me if I wanted to do a sport that was only me, I didn't have to rely on anyone else. As far as I wanted to go was as far as I would go. So wrestling became my life. I train seven days a week. That moment when you stand up off the mat and the referee holds up your hand, all that hard work, all the time you've put into practicing, it all pays off. All those times when I chose not to go hang out with my friends because I had to practice, all of it is worth that moment when I win. I hate every other part of it because the training is so hard, but when you walk off and everybody's clapping and cheering for you, it's the greatest feeling in the world.
I'm going down to the University of Missouri next year to wrestle Division I. I'm scared, excited—I've got a lot of different emotions about it. The Big Twelve is the best wrestling in the country, and I'm going to one of the best schools. I got recruited by the coach when he saw me wrestle at Nationals my senior year. I was the state champion in Rhode Island twice—that's how I got to go to Nationals. I'm planning to go for the Olympics, probably in 2012. That's definitely one of my goals in life.
Wrestling has taught me that the average Central student isn't supposed to make it that far in life. At this school, you're just supposed to get by, get your diploma, and that's it. You're not really supposed to learn and go on to do better things. When I started wrestling, I knew that I could do whatever I wanted, and that I could do it here at Central. I try and use that thought for everything.
When I came in I was so lazy, I thought I'd just get by. But I realized that you have to work hard for the things you want in life, you can't just let them come. You have to take every chance that you have. Something comes, you have to take the risk, because the greater the risk, the greater the prize. If you're willing to work hard for something and not just hang out with your friends, then only good things can happen.
Without my father's support in wrestling, I wouldn't be anywhere close to where I am today. You can't do anything in life without support from somebody. It's taught me to support people if they really want to do something. I coach at a youth center right now and there are kids that come to practice just because their friends are there. I pay no mind to them because they don't want to get better. They just want to play around and act like fools. I give my attention to those that want to learn and be the best that they can. I appreciate those people who do what they really want to, even if they have to go against everybody else. As I've grown in this sport, that's what I've learned.
Janet James>>
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