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Caleb Williams

Transcript

  • Sports Announcer 1: Quarterback, Caleb Williams, he announced last weekend—
  • Multiple Sports Announcers: [Inaudible chatter, talking over one another, multiple images of headlines about Caleb Williams appear on top of each other] 

  • Caleb Williams (University of Southern California Quarterback, Mental Health Advocate): When the stadium lights are dimmed…when the cameras stop flashing…when the pads are off…the pressure sinks in and it’s just me. Just me in a world of expectation. Nobody can carry that alone.

    I went to college on my first year and I actually was taking 11 classes or 10 classes, one or the other. I wasn’t in the position that I wanted to be, which was actually on the field and playing because I didn’t play the first half of the season, and so when that happened it was a very…probably one of the more tougher times in my life.

    I was actually a meme last year on…one occasion was good and one occasion was not so good. One occasion was Texas and when we won, and the other occasion was where we lost to Oklahoma State, and the sad moment…I kind of turned off social media, Twitter, Instagram, anything like that and focus on, like I said, what I like to do. And then, you know, my support system, my team, my teammates…and then, what I mean by my support system is my either close friends, really close friends, my family members, my mentors that have been there and know me.

    Pressure doesn’t have to be carried alone. What if we came together as a team? Embraced talking openly about our mental health.

  • Christian John Bradley: If we reached out… Checked in.
  • Shreya Ranganathan: Seized the awkward.
  • Caleb Williams: Imagine what we could do.
  • Christian John Bradley (Graduate Student, Sports Journalism): I started a conversation about a friend’s mental health by simply asking them “How are you doing?” whether that’s a text, a phone call, or even in-person. And if I get that canned “I’m good” response, I sit there, patiently look them in the eye, and say “Bro or Sis, how are you really doing?” and typically they open up and allow me in their corner. And I sit there and listen to them and affirm who they are in the circumstance—that no matter what’s going on, no matter what’s happening, they’re going to get through it. 
  • Shreya Ranganathan (Undergraduate Journalism Student, Yoga Instructor): I feel great being supported. It’s almost like when you take a deep breath in and you’re holding it and all these pressures just surround you. But then, when you have a friend in your corner, you can take that exhale, that breath out and know that the weight’s lifted off of your shoulders. So, at the end of the day, I want to be there for someone else because I know what it’s like to feel alone. So just know…
  • Caleb Williams: If you want to talk, 
  • Christian John Bradley: I’m here. 
  • Shreya Ranganathan: I’m here.
  • Caleb Williams: We’re a team. 
  • Shreya Ranganathan: To learn more about getting the conversation started, visit SeizeTheAwkward.org.