Living behind the arc

This archived article was written by: Autumn Kay

A member of the USU Eastern Women’s basketball team, Brooklynn Barrus, specializes in shooting from long range. She has put in countless hours throughout her life to perfect and gain confidence in her shot. On all of the teams Barrus has played on, being the 3-point shooter was her role.
For as long as she can remember, Barrus has played basketball. As a young girl in elementary school, her grandpa would practice with her. He put her through rigorous drills, such as using weighted balls and vests to build her strength.
Though Barrus began playing at a young age, it wasn’t until she was in middle school that her love for the game really developed. During this time, the dream to play in college was planted in her mind.
Her grandfather was also a good basketball player, but he played baseball in college at Colorado Mesa. Baseball is a big sport in her family her dad played college baseball at Southern Utah University.
When Barrus was younger, she played baseball with the boys. When the time came that she was no longer allowed to play baseball, Barrus was upset. She didn’t want to play softball with the girls. She finally accepted her situation and found that she actually enjoyed softball quite a bit.
Barrus lived in Colorado, until her sophomore year of high school when she moved to Logan. She attended Mountain Crest High School where she played her remaining years of basketball and two years of softball. She missed her Junior year of softball, as she was committed to a traveling basketball team.
The biggest change in Barrus’ life was changing her thought process. During a time of trial, she was able to keep in mind that everyone goes through tough times, and that people go through hard challenges for a reason. She was able to turn her focus from herself to others. Barrus has lived by the daily motto “zoom out” ever since.
If money were no object, Barrus would explore the world. She would travel to lands afar and see all of the wonderful sights. If she could live anywhere she wanted to, she would live in California, Oregon or Colorado because they have beautiful countrysides.
Barrus wants to be a high school counselor so she can help students; she would also love to be a coach. If she could change just one students life, it would be worth it to her.
Camping, cliff jumping, and being in the great outdoors are some of Barrus’ hobbies. If she could possess any talent, she would be artistic. The coolest gift she has ever been given is a trip to go skydiving.
Loving and caring for people is the greatest cause for Barrus, she is a people person. She loves to hang out with her friends and her family, because they are the people who know her best. She wishes she had younger siblings to impact and help to become good people. Being a good person, even when no one is watching, is valuable to Barrus. She hopes she will always take advantage of the time she has to spend with her family, because time goes by quickly.
A crazy experience Barrus has had was breaking out in a rash on her feet after participating in a service project. The service project included cleaning up a road by the USUE campus. She believed she was allergic to some type of plant that she was cutting from the sidewalk. After slowly recovering from the rash, Barrus broke out again. As it turns out, she wasn’t allergic to the plants, she was allergic to a type of athletic spray that trainers use when taping athlete’s feet.
Barrus’ favorite food is sushi, her favorite smell is the smell of her biolage shampoo after a shower and her favorite school subject is psychology. She admits that she is a low-key softie, as she enjoys Nicholas Sparks books and movies. Barrus always has her nails painted and looking good.
One of Barrus biggest pet peeves is when people do things that are careless, and they don’t think how their actions are going to impact other people. She has a bright, confident personality and makes everyone feel important.