In Gastonia, not very many people get the opportunity to go to a place like the University of North Carolina.

I was lucky, because A.J. Blue came before me. He came to Carolina in 2009, and that was a really big deal. I had followed him as a kid, because he was a superstar in Gastonia. In 2007, North Gaston played in the state championship game in Kenan Stadium, and we thought that was amazing.

Seeing him go from Gastonia to Carolina made me realize it was possible. I was always on the smaller side, but seeing A.J. do it gave me a standard to work towards. I knew he had gotten to the Carolina level and saw how hard he worked. That was the way I wanted to work so I would have the same chance.

Carolina was a big deal to me because my mom is a hardcore Carolina basketball fan. Any time we could watch the games, we always had them on television. I loved watching Ty Lawson. My dad likes Duke, so of course I wanted to go to Carolina so I could tell him I had beaten up on Duke.

There’s just something special about repping your home state. This is where your family is from. This is where you were born and bred.

The first time I played at Kenan was against Virginia Tech my freshman year. We were on kickoff, and I was looking around, and that’s when I really realized I was at Carolina, at a place where all my family and friends could see me. My grandfather, Vincent Brooks, never lets people back home forget. He is always telling me how proud he is and he talks about it constantly to his friends and everyone in Gastonia. That’s a special feeling.

I’m not sure I realized just how special it is until the first time I went home. I went back to my high school, and that’s when I started to realize how many of my teachers and principals also went to Carolina. Getting that education is so important, and that’s something I have in common with them now. My dad coaches in high school, and when I go home those kids ask me a million questions about football. I always try to bring it back to school with them. You can’t play football if you don’t go to school.

In Gastonia, most people don’t sit around in high school thinking, “I know I’m going to graduate college.” When you get to Chapel Hill, you see how difficult it is. But when you put in the work and take advantage of the opportunities, before you know it, you’ve only got a couple credits left. And now I’m working on a master’s degree.

I’ve learned a lot about myself during my time at Carolina, but I’ve also learned a lot about the school and the people. Carolina is one of the most prestigious schools in the country. When I go back to Gastonia and say I go to Carolina, everyone understands right away what that means.

After spending so much time here, I can say that really starts with the mindset in Chapel Hill. No matter what sport it is, there are national champions walking around campus, and they all have the same hunger for excellence that you do.

Carolina just breeds greatness.