When my TV show, 'Sports Jobs with Junior Seau,' assigned me to be a 'Sports Illustrated' reporter for a weekend, I didn't realize I'd have to squeeze it in around another sports job. I had planned to retire from the NFL to enjoy the cushy lifestyle of a full-time reality TV star, but I wound up getting run over by a bull.

I had parents who instilled in me the importance of love, morals and hard work. I give God all the glory because he has brought me through so much.

I'm not retiring. I am graduating. Today is my graduation day. Retirement means that you'll just go ahead and live on your laurels and surf all day in Oceanside. It ain't going to happen.

I'm not afraid to fail. I'm afraid to be mediocre.

I get paid to practice. I play the game for free.

The Super Bowl is a game. Life is for real. What I went through helped me get to where I am today. I won't forget. I can't forget. Because a man who forgets his past sometimes loses his soul and forgets where to go in the future.

You see a hockey player, you'd never know he's a professional athlete. But you put the skates on him, and he becomes a beast.