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View Full Version : Drew is half the boy he used to be, and loving it



thedrifter
05-14-03, 07:40 AM
This was sent to me by MAJMike.....

I wanted to share with all



Drew is half the boy he used to be, and loving it
Rockdale High sophomore owes it all to a man he knew just 5 days

By DONNA WILLIAMS LEWIS
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

The Army television commercials proclaim: "Be all you can be."

To Drew Yaun, a Rockdale County JROTC student, that meant becoming half of what he was.

Drew, a 16-year-old sophomore at Rockdale County High School, began his freshman year there weighing 315 pounds.

When he returned to school this year, some people didn't even recognize him -- he'd lost 145 pounds. And he says he owes it all "to a man I knew for only five days."

That man, a drill instructor at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot in Parris Island, S.C., is among 23 role model "imPACTers" who will be honored tonight in Conyers by the community group PACT, Parents and Children Together.

In February, PACT invited Rockdale's high school students to write an essay about an adult who had a positive influence on their lives. Twenty-six essay writers and the adults they wrote about were selected to attend tonight's event.

The second annual celebration is designed to show children that they are valued by adults other than family members and to show adults how valuable their interactions with children can be, said Sheila Parker, coordinator of PACT.

"Simple little things can make a difference in a child's life," Parker said, "even things as simple as saying hello and calling a child by his first name."

Drew wrote his PACT essay about Staff Sgt. Eduardo Quiroz, the drill instructor who shepherded him and his classmates through a grueling sample of recruit training. Drew credits Quiroz with inspiring him to reverse years of weight problems that had begun affecting his health and making him feel "there was really no point in living anymore."

Drew was about 7 when he realized he was bigger than everyone else his age. That didn't really bother him until middle school, when he saw other boys acquiring girlfriends and going to parties he wasn't invited to.

Food became his comfort. "I ate a ton," Drew said. He smiled as he recalled his typical afternoon snack: a whole pizza.

Though he grew larger and larger and failed at one diet after another, Drew continued to excel in a wide variety of sports and always seemed like a happy guy, recalls his father, Wilbur Yaun. But behind the smile was a boy who thought everyone was staring at him because of his size. He was, as he put it, "an unhappy kid who hated his life."

To fill a blank last year on his freshman high school schedule, Drew signed up for JROTC. A military career was the farthest thing from his mind when he joined the class field trip to Parris Island that January, especially when he saw the boot camp obstacles that he was expected to overcome.

"At the beginning, they're saying everybody's going to get through this. I'm saying 'I'm not,' " Drew said.

But Quiroz wouldn't let him even think of failure. "It was amazing that he didn't prejudge me," Drew said.

When there were no water bottle belts that would fit around his 53-inch waist, "I was about to cry when he put two together and wrapped it around me," Drew wrote in his essay. "I will never forget what he said to me: 'Improvise and overcome.' "

The drill sergeant pushed Drew through a "confidence course" that included climbing a three-story post and frame structure with a small team of his classmates. He jumped to logs four feet away and even rappelled off the side of a 65-foot tower.

"He told me I had the heart to do anything in my life, and not only that, he made me believe it," Drew wrote. "He helped me overcome the mental blocks that had plagued my life as long as I can remember."

By the end of that week, Drew was 15 pounds lighter and feeling better about himself than ever before. He was given the Best Cadet award for having the most heart among his 50-member group from Rockdale. And for the first time in his life he had a clear, solid goal: to become an officer in the military.

His first mission -- to lose weight.

Drew returned home asking his parents to quit buying ice cream, cookies, cake and chips. Low-fat sub sandwiches, grilled chicken and fat-free salads became his daily diet.

"He went through tons of apples and oranges," his father said. "We learned to cook a little better and eat earlier."

By last June, the 6-foot-1 youngster, a member of Rockdale High's golf, football and wrestling teams, was down to 240 pounds. When school started in September, he'd reached 185. He dropped another 15 pounds last winter to get into a different wrestling category, but eased back to 180 when his dad said he thought he'd gone too far.

Today, Drew is still kind of shy, his dad says. But, blushing in sync with his son, he says Drew now has a social life that's "too good."

"He's probably a little bit trying to catch up for lost time," Yaun said. One of the two shell necklaces Drew wore on a recent afternoon came, Drew said, from his girlfriend.

He has tried, but has never been able, to communicate with Quiroz since that fateful week at Parris Island.

After weeks of effort, PACT's Parker finally tracked down Quiroz and told him what he'd done for Drew. The 32-year-old father of two was shocked.

"He didn't stand out to me," Quiroz said in a telephone interview Friday. "I just saw a group of young men and women. But he seemed to stand out to them as 'the big friendly guy.' "

Quiroz has since read Drew's essay. "That was great," he said. "I can't believe that so much changed for him in those five days."

Quiroz said an impending boot camp graduation would probably make it impossible for him to attend tonight's event. Parker hopes to make a phone connection between him and Drew during the affair.

In case that doesn't happen, Sgt. Quiroz, here's what a kid in Rockdale County wants to tell you:

"I'd just like to say thank you," Drew said. "And when I'm 60 years old and looking back on whatever I've accomplished in my life, you will be responsible for it."


http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/dekalb/0503/12impact.html


The Drifter