Highland senior linebacker Cannon Booker is no stranger to being faced with challenges and adversity.
A week and a half before his junior football season was to begin, Booker tore his ACL, MCL and meniscus.
Prior to his injury he had already found himself struggling with some personal challenges and was having a difficult time finding the positives in anything.
“I was down on life,” Booker said. “I saw the bad side of everything.”
Through his knee rehab and the beginning of the quarantine that was brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, Booker’s perspective on life shifted.
2021 Ath C Booker @cannon_booker1 with great play behind the line of scrimmage.@CodyTCameron @AZHSFB @JUSTCHILLY @ZachAlvira pic.twitter.com/CCF13WOwyS
— Highland Hawks Football Recruiting (@hawkfbrecruiti1) October 11, 2020
“I started seeing how good everything actually is and that there’s way more positives than negative,” Booker said. “There’s so much more beauty than there is ugly.”
Booker felt he needed to share this new outlook and decided to take the leap and start creating content on YouTube which he had always wanted to do but didn’t have the time.
“I felt like I needed to start putting stuff out there because I have so many thoughts,” Booker said. “I never really had anywhere to put it out, so I felt like (YouTube) would be a good place to start.”
The first few videos were recorded on Booker’s phone with no script, just thoughts that came to him as he went.
His latest video was put together with help from his brother’s girlfriend and had a scripted message.
“You have to go through a Monday to appreciate a Friday,” Booker said in his latest video titled ‘The Perfect Amount of Imperfect.’ “We have all these bad days to show us that our good ones are meaningful.”
On the football field, Booker emulates his positivity and good energy as a vocal leader for the Hawks.
“When he talks, people listen,” Highland head coach Brock Farrel said. “He’s our energy catalyst. He’s always got positive energy. He walks the line between crazy and passionate, which is a great way to live.”
This year Booker is in a broadcasting class at Highland where he is learning more about how to edit video and about content creation.
The Highland senior has a few more video ideas on the drawing board that he is looking forward to producing once the football season is over, he said.
Despite his latest video getting nearly 1,000 views, becoming “YouTube famous” isn’t the main goal for Booker.
“I don’t care too much about getting views,” Booker said. “All I want to know is that I could have helped at least one person get through a hard time.”
