Every person has a past, but some people have had a rougher past than others. Sophomore Christian Cannon is one of those people. Cannon was taken from his parents and placed into foster care when he was 5 years old; he was later adopted in 2008. Since then, he has moved around quite a bit, and when he was younger he was bullied.

“Christian has been through a lot during his lifetime,” sophomore Ethan Patterson said. “He has lived with five different families, and now the one he is currently living with isn’t getting along. Some things have started to look up for him, but other things are still rough.”

In August, Christian found and met his real parents. When he first contacted his mother, he said that when she heard his voice, she started crying.

“Two months ago I found my real parents, my three brothers and one sister,” Cannon said. “It was very emotional for me, because it has been twelve years since I’ve seen them. When I first met them, they told me that they tried to get in contact with me, but they couldn’t.”

To help make it through the tougher aspects of life, Christian finds activities to be a part of. Football is one of those activities that help take his mind off of other issues. Christian has been playing football for six years. He started out playing peewee football, and now he plays on the junior varsity football team.

“Football has helped me through so much,” Cannon said. Since I’ve started football, I’ve made some friends and people seem to respect me more.”

He admits that when he was younger, he was a trouble maker. However, going to the Calvary Christian Center and playing football has played a huge role in turning Christian into a better person.

“I have known Christian since fourth grade, and he has changed a lot,” freshman Lance Pauler said. “He is a hard worker and a good leader. I remember that he used to be really mean, but if you get to know him now he’s chill.”

Christian’s friends agree that his most noticeable feature is his attitude. Many people have judged him based on his past, but he has a few friends that have stuck by his side.

“I have known Christian since I moved here,” Patterson said. He is a good friend and a good person to hang around, but people tend to overlook that.”

Cannon has big plans for the future. After high school, he hopes to attend both The Arts Institute of California to study gaming and ITT Tech to study radiology.

“I want to study gaming, because I play a lot of video games, and it really fascinates me,” Cannon said. The reason I want to study radiology, is because that is what my uncle did, and I think it is really cool how that stuff works. I’ve always thought that those two things would be cool to learn about.”

As for now, Christian plans on continuing to work hard in school and in football. He also plans to see his real family more often.

“I plan on spending my birthday with both my adoptive parents and my real parents,” Cannon said. “Also on October 21, I plan on going to a church thing in Tyler, called Hell House, with my real sister. I’m so happy I found my real family, and I can’t wait to spend more time with them.”