Experiencing Sugar Free Bowl

Although people pass away and are remembered through various actions, the most influential remembrance was the one of Vishal Bhagat. As a young eighteen year old, all I could do was try to understand why everyone was so passionate about Sugar Free Bowl. Little did I know that the actual day of the event would help me feel the enthusiasm towards fulfilling the dream of an individual that I didn’t even know. It was an early cold morning as I helped set up at the Intramural Fields at The University of Texas at Austin. I was not only on zero hours of sleep but I also couldn’t stay awake while standing.

It was for the first time in my life that I had difficulty maintaining balance. I tried gaining energy from food and caffeine, which only got me through the morning as I helped score one game after another. I still kept wondering what the hype was about this event even though I had some understanding of it. I felt that doing this service didn’t impact me as much as it had impacted the other brothers. It was finally the afternoon and a lady representing Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) came to Sugar Free Bowl to speak. After listening to her speech, I suddenly realized how big of a deal this day was to so many people.

It was not just a big deal to the brothers of Delta Epsilon Psi but also to the father of Vishal Bhagat to see an event representing the combination of football and strong feelings about juvenile diabetes, which his son felt strongly about. I had never seen something this huge created by such young individuals to continue the memory of a departed individual.

This day made me more committed towards serving the community in general as well as contributing more towards continuing the philanthropy of Delta Epsilon Psi.I saw how much respect people had towards the efforts put into making Sugar Free Bowl happen, as this was the dream of one of our deceased brothers. Although people might say that Vishal Bhagat has passed away, his goal of contributing towards the efforts of finding a cure for juvenile diabetes is still alive to this day.

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Viral Bhakta
The Founding Chapter