Doesn't it seem like just when you peak at something in life, fate throws a curveball your way? For those of you that don’t know what I’m talking about, you’re bound to find out.

Athletes, I’m talking to you. You sacrifice your Friday nights for grueling practices, and endure a tough loss to your rival the next day. Athletes strive for perfection, as their sport consumes their lives. Yet, these "challenges" seem like pure bliss when an athlete becomes injured.

To the athlete that has never been injured, shut your eyes and imagine this: Without warning, one day in the middle of lifting you start to feel an unbearable pain but continue to lift because you were taught to push through the pain. In fact, you play through the pain for weeks. The weeks turn into months and at this point your performance on the court isn’t half the ability you have and everything you try doesn’t help the pain. Your body is screaming at you all day and you can’t escape from it. Going to school becomes nearly impossible, and you’re forced to be sidelined at practices. You feel completely helpless, because when your team is struggling you are forced to just watch.

This was me. I was living an athlete’s nightmare.

To the athlete that has been injured: you have felt my pain and understand.

After struggling for months, and missing out on what I thought was the most important thing in my life, I asked myself: Why does this happen? It was easy to blame other people, circumstances, or even God.

I was scrolling through Pinterest and I came across this: Everything happens for a reason. I live by this saying now. Reflect on your life in this moment. You wouldn’t want to change the past because it’s brought you to your present, right? The good, the bad, the ugly have shaped you into who you are and no matter how hard you try, you’ll never be able to change the past. The minute you realize and accept that your fate is inevitable you will become happier. Adversity only makes someone stronger. Coming to the conclusion that I was born to pursue other things in life was the hardest and most rewarding thing I’ve ever done. I was able to start a new chapter in my life by spending more time with the people I love, prepare for my future, and find other passions such as writing.

When adversity slaps you across the face, it's acceptable to cry and be upset. But, wake up the next day with a smile (even if you have to fake it at first) knowing that you’re going to be happy because life has a way of working things out in the end. Life is going to throw curveballs at you, but how you react defines who you are.