Relationships with friends and family can define how we act, what we say and even who we are.
They have the power to shape our lives. The relationships between family members can be complicated and can have a negative or positive influence on lives around them.
For senior defensive lineman Wendell Bryant and his mother, Karen Wells, their bond lies deeper.
The two have a remarkable mother-son relationship that has had a positive influence on both of their lives.
The Daily Cardinal spoke with both Bryant and Wells to get an in-depth look at UW's star defensive lineman and his close ties with his mother.
Bryant, a native of St. Louis has always maintained a good relationship with his mom.
'She's my best friend,' said Bryant, a personal finance major. 'I tell her everything and I can talk to her about anything ?? she's my mentor.'
'We're basically open [with each other] and I don't think it's a conventional mother-son relationship,' Wells said.
Wendell is an only child and was raised solely by his mother, giving them a unique bond and an easygoing relationship.
'Our relationship is a little more relaxed and kind of laid-back. I was like mother and father also because he did not have his father around him when he was young,' Wells said.
The arguments between mother and son proved to be minimal.
'We really never had arguments ?? I wasn't a rebellious kid and I realized I had what I had,' Bryant said.
Bryant brings good memories from his childhood in St. Louis with him to Wisconsin. According to Bryant, he had fun growing up with his friends.
'My friends and I ?? were regular kids. [We] played video games, played basketball ?? just hung out ?? We were never worried about drugs or alcohol,' Bryant said.
Bryant also admits to being a content child back home.
'I was a nerd ?? I didn't go to school dances or things like that ?? I was always in the house studying or working out ?? or trying to get better ?? at football,' Bryant said.
Wells agrees with her son and said, 'He was a good kid.'
Bryant, who attended a Catholic grade school as a youngster, was a quiet child who loved video games and football.
'Quiet kid; at age 10, 12, 13, he was a little sarcastic but he was basically a loner,' Wells said. 'He played by himself a lot ?? [but] he did have friends in the neighborhood who he's still close to.'
Bryant's mother said he was not a difficult child to raise, partly because of the support of family and friends around them.
'I just had a lot of help ?? it was due to people that surrounded us and people that loved us, as well as him,' Wells said.
The 6'4\, 293-lb. 2001 team co-captain got his start playing football his freshman year at Ritenour High School, where he made USA Today's second-team All-American team.
At age 12, he would have played with 15-year-olds but refrained from doing so at his mother's request.
'I wasn't able to play as a kid because I was too big for my age group,' Bryant said.
Once he stepped onto the field as a freshman, Bryant racked up the numbers with 125 tackles in his two years as a starter; 70 of those stops were for negative yardage.
Bryant earned honors when he made the first-team All-Surburban North team on both offense and defense and recruiting analyst Tom Lemming named Bryant one of the 50 top national prospects in his Prep Football Report.
When Bryant remembers his high school football career, he says his favorite memory is of his last home game of his senior year.
'It was my last home game ?? last time to be with the guys I was with. I keep in contact with some of them [teammates],' Bryant said.
So why did a defensive lineman out of St. Louis come to Wisconsin?
'Coaching staff, it's a great place to be, a great place to live, a great place to raise kids, low crime ?? we can make stuff happen [and] that's all we really want to be,' Bryant said, who has made things happen on the field this season. Bryant has had seven sacks in five games for a total of 51 yards.
Wendell's mother supports his decision to play for Wisconsin.
'I'm glad he chose Wisconsin. That was his ultimate choice, even though I liked it,' Wells said. 'He was thinking about other places but they seemed to have the most interest in him, especially the coaching staff.'
Another reason Wells feels comfortable with Bryant at Wisconsin is his safety.
'I feel safer [with him here], less worry ?? even though I'm always worried,' Wells said.
Wells has shown her dedication to her son by driving exactly 372 miles from St. Louis to Madison for every home football game and even cooks him a meal each weekend.
'I come up on weekends and cook [Bryant and his teammates] a home-cooked meal, every time I'm up there,' Wells said. 'That way they can have some semblance of home.'
Wells also maintains a close relationship with the mother of former Wisconsin Badger cornerback Jamar Fletcher and the two of them often drive up to Wisconsin for home games.
Sometimes, however, Wells is not able to watch her son from the stadium seats, especially when the games are further away, such as at Penn State or Oregon.
'Away games, sometimes she can't make it,' Bryant said.
With the tight mother-son relationship comes admiration and Bryant and his mother have that in spades.
Bryant admires 'pretty much everything' about his mother but places perseverance and her straightforward attitude toward life at the top of the list.
'She told me stuff when I was a little kid that most moms would pry their kids away from, but she was always real with me; she was always straightforward,' Bryant said. 'She was never cynical with me; she always told me what was going to happen when it was going to happen.'
Wells has a strong sense of pride for her son and considers his greatest strength to be 'his passion for life as well as football and the fact that he goes within himself to find his inner strength ?? to do the things they're doing.'
Wendell's combination of hard work on the field and off is the reason Wells considers her son to be her hero.
'They don't get a chance to get out and do the things that all of the college students do; [football players] have to do this ?? they're going to college double,' Wells said.
Wells' pride in her son mostly stems from matters off the field.
'Even with all of these accolades ?? I'm just really proud of him as a good human being, a good citizen,' Wells said. 'He's grown up tremendously and that's what I'm more proud of than anything.'
