(S2) - PT #2 - Locker Personalization

[Oles]

Written: Must include 200 words. Describe what you've got in your locker other than the normal football gear.

A look in the locker of Tyler Oles reveals a glaring lack of personal items. Oles doesn’t like to keep much in the locker, and besides his equipment none of it relates to football. You won’t find a list of players that went before him, CBs that are graded higher than him, or a list of players he wants to emulate. You won’t find pictures of family, friends, or pets, in fact the emptiness is the most telling thing about the locker. You’ll find two things in his locker, one of which is one of the last items his mom got for him before she passed away. A signed Nick Markakis baseball is this item, in a plastic case. It was a baseball that he got from when Markakis was still on the O’s, as growing up in Baltimore and playing in the outfield in little league Oles always admired Markakis. This ball was a birthday present when Oles was 15, and was given to him only a few months before she passed away suddenly. The other item is an envelope, containing a medal that as sent from an organ donor association as thanks for his mom’s organ donations, even though due to the illness at the time her organs were not able to be used. These 2 items carry a lot of meaning to Oles, and he’s kept them with him for years now, a reminder of the person his mom was and constant motivation to keep him going even through the darkest times he’s faced.

(257 words)