As trivial as a quote in a high school yearbook might be, the words I chose four years ago have stayed with me for my entire life.

I like to tell people that a Sports Illustrated promotional video titled "Crunch Course" helped raise me. In it, an NFL special teams coach talks about the men who play on kick coverage. To describe the job those men do, he cited an U.S. Army airborne officer who was asked to define courage.

He said, "Those are the guys who are afraid; but they go anyway."

While those words have been something I have tried to live by, I didn't really understand what they meant four years ago.

Sure, I had covered kickoffs -- as a twig-thin 150-pounder, mind you -- on the football field. And, then again, I did come to a school of 40,000 knowing just one other student -- barely.

But throughout the past four years, I really found out about sucking it up and acting, even when the prospects of failure were terrifying. At times, I've fallen into comfort zones that prevent me from taking chances, regardless of the consequences.

I had one small group of friends I lived with, I had what I thought was a cushy major where I could graduate early or take a semester off, and I even had a nice little path laid out for myself here at the Collegian.

I spent three years as the resident men's tennis writer and planned on riding that through my senior year. It was great, I never had to start over again; I was totally at home. Then I decided to stay for the Collegian last summer and got to work as the night sports editor. That's when I found what I loved about the newsroom.

But while it was low-key in the summer, I was beside myself when thinking about managing an entire staff in the fall. I would be in charge of people who had left me in the dust on the sports staff ladder. Honestly, I didn't want to be a joke.

I can't thank my co-workers enough for giving me their respect right from the beginning. That vote of confidence was all it took, in my mind, for me to step up and act as a leader. I just needed them to see something in me that they could follow.

Those leaps of faith led me to both good and bad decisions during the past four years. I really couldn't be more proud of myself for switching to a major as abstract as history to really get the most of my education. I took that a step further when things clicked into place and I discovered what I love doing. Since then I have acted on following my dream.

I've actually impressed myself after walking for what seemed like shameful miles to a district magistrate to handle a citation, only to find out it was closed on Saturdays, and I would have to do it all again. I did just that, and paid for my mistake as I hope I have done along the way.

I'm thankful that I finally "manned up" and kissed that special girl. I'm thankful that I let some of my stubbornness go to take advice from friends and family. I'm glad I have learned to be more outgoing since coming in as a freshman, when I could probably only be described as meek.

Since then, I make it a point to volunteer to speak in group projects. I try to be heard in classes and make myself known in professional and social settings. I guess I just realized it was something that had to be done.

Pride is a big deal to me, and the way I have pushed myself harder each year since setting foot on this campus is something I must take with me. If not, I could backslide into another comfort zone too daunting to push through.

Even though it might be another four, or forty, years until I really understand the definition of courage, I know it will require me to face my fears around each turn. I can only hope to take on the future, just like the men covering kicks in my video did throughout my childhood.

In fact, I plan on attacking the world, as scary as it may be, like the 150-pound version of myself, going against a behemoth of uncertainty.