When you think of a football player, what images come to your mind?

Some people think football does NOT require a whole lot of smarts--that football players are big, slow, "dumb jocks" who would rather hit someone hard than hit the books. They think that because they have a lot of brawn, they don't have much of a brain.

I want to introduce you to a local athlete who is NOT your normal football player. His name is Marquel Carter, and he is the quarterback for the Culver City High School football team. Last season, he scored 30 touchdowns in just 12 games, but what makes him stand out in a crowd is the head inside the helmet:

*He won a sports essay contest at his school last year (topic: "I have a dream. . .")

*He has tried fencing, snorkeling, lacrosse and taiko drumming.

*When he had to choose a second language to study in high school, he figured he could always learn Spanish (since he lives in LA, where there is a large hispanic population), so he chose Japanese instead, a much harder language to master. In fact, he wants to learn more than 7 languages in his lifetime, so he can speak more than Kobe Bryant!

*He is considering going to Harvard or Stanford.

*Finally, in case you thought he was a one-sport wonder, he also plays for his school's basketball team, and runs 3 events for the track team.

No wonder his coach calls him "A remarkable young man. . . a breath of fresh air."

Why am I telling you all this? Because people will try to label you because of your gender, race, skin color, size, ethnicity or religion. They will tell you that you CAN'T do certain things because of who you are. But don't believe them! Marquel lives that way. So should you!