You've woken up at 6 a.m. twice this week, you've had to rush to class hungry and sweaty after practice and you've had little or no time to focus on your studies because your time is limited and your energy is nonexistent. You are cranky from both your lack of sleep as well as your lack of social life. You're a college athlete and being a college athlete may as well be a full-time job. Only, you have school on top of your athletics. So essentially, you are working two full-time jobs during what is supposed to be the best time of your life.
Daily life can be described with four simple words: “The struggle is real." You begin to doubt why you are doing what you are doing. You long to feel refreshed when you wake up but with 15 credits and 20 hours of training a week, a normal night's sleep is hard enough to get you through the day. You pass by people picnicking on campus and others who are taking a stroll with their dogs. Your free time consists of lying in bed and contemplating what you're doing with your life. No one can argue that being an athlete is hard. In fact, it can be extremely gruesome and you question why you're doing such a thing as playing college sports.
But even with the doubts, you are an athlete and even in the hard times, you need to remember what got you in this position, to begin with:
1. You are here for a reason
Whether it's because you started playing a sport at four years old and can't imagine life without it or because you were too good to quit, you are here in college playing a sport for some important reason: because something brought you to this point. Athletics became a part of your life and you couldn't live without it so you decided to continue your career in college. It is important never to forget what got you here, to begin with. Something drove you to push yourself. Something sparked a desire inside you to play at an elite level. Years of hard work passed, a door opened up and you were given the opportunity to have a spot on a team and to compete for a college or university. Don't lose sight of why you're here.
2. You can do this.
Sure, you have hard days — hard weeks, even. Sometimes you are upset from bad practice, sometimes you feel exhausted from constantly being on-the-go, and other times, you just don't feel strong enough or capable anymore to be a college athlete. But, every day is a new day and each week should be taken in stride. It may be hard at times and you may wonder why you're going through with this way of life but ultimately you can do this. You are strong, capable, and talented and athletes thrive on doing what doesn't come easy.
3. If you were a quitter you wouldn't have made it this far.
There have been countless days in your athletics career when you felt discouraged or upset at your progress. But you pushed through. Why should now be any different? You never quit before so why quit now? Why quit when you are your peak and playing at a high level? You're not a quitter and you know that there are more good days than bad ones. Stay strong.
4. Being an athlete is part of you.
What has taken up part of your day for years? What has consumed the majority of your thoughts? What has pushed you to work hard day in and day out? Your sport has. You are an athlete and it has become part of your identity. Don't give up that identity. Don't lose your fire. Make the most of your prime and compete to the fullest. This window of opportunity to play in college flies by and you won't get it back.
