Well that is my typical day, filled with the obstacles and joys of being a student athlete. There are countless mental and physical challenges, but for some reason we keep going back for more. Maybe it is the feeling that you get when you think that you cannot physically do any more and you get through it because of your team.Maybe it is those crazy times with your team or all all of times that you laugh so hard that you cry that out weigh those days that you are the captain of the struggle bus. Whatever the motivation, you simply have to love playing your sport. I know I have a lot more respect for student athletes now that I am one. You begin to realize how difficult it really is when you live the life day in and day out and no matter what sport, you respect how much hard work everyone has to put in.
I honestly could not imagine being on any other team but the softball team. We are like one big family. We may have some differences, but at the end of the day we all genuinely care about each other. There are countless inside jokes and random conversations that we have had. I even have a little "family," complete with family dinners and all. It is always great to know that you have that support system to get you through the day. The freshmen class dinners at Taos are always a great way to vent about your day and talk with people who can sympathize with you. Even my mentor is always there whenever I need someone to talk to. I could not imagine not living with my teammates, random dancing and all. The part I really love about our team is the team values: Education, Faith, Respect, Relentlessness, and Family. After all, we are here to get our education, we have to have faith in each other, a mutual respect for one another, relentlessness in all that we do, and at the end of the day we are a family. I also love that we give our best effort. It is really emphasized that we need to learn lessons for life, not just softball, and that can only benefit us. We may have a decent amount of rules and standards of behavior to uphold, but at the end of the day I could not imagine doing anything else.
Although the struggles that a student athlete may face are constant and challenging, you do it for those moments that you are so glad you have your team. You do it because you love the game. You do it because you just could not imagine yourself doing anything else. No matter the sport, student athletes at this level work extremely hard and I have a totally different view now when I watch any college sporting events.
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