1. You're constantly sweaty. Generally, if you're not sweating all the way through warm-up, then you're not working hard enough. Every team has that person that sweats profusely at all times, but, let's be honest, everyone will be sweaty after practice. It's up to you to embrace it.
2. In fact, you actually have a stick of deodorant in every bag or purse you own. Because no one wants to be the sweaty and the smelly person in class, you most likely carry a stick of deodorant in your backpack to whip out in the bathroom before class. You often find yourself smelling like a man because we all know that men's deodorant works a lot better than women's deodorant.
3. You often substitute a shower with air freshener before classes. As you can see, college athletes often tend to have to push personal hygiene off to the side. Luckily for you, you can always find that teammate with the Febreze in their locker that you coat yourself from head to toe in before walking to class.
4. You own more colors of pre-wrap than you do items of makeup. All female athletes can attest to the fact that pre-wrap is a staple of their daily wardrobe. Every person has the certain color pre-wrap that they wear for every different occasion: purple for games, green for practices, black for everyday use. Every team has that one person that always asks others for pre-wrap. Don't be that person.
5. Your closet is overflowing with athletic t-shirts. The bright side that comes with your wardrobe consisting entirely of old tournament t-shirts and practice shirts is that laundry is incredibly easy to do. Not only do you not have to worry about the harsh dorm washers ruining your shirts, but getting dressed every day is extremely easy.
6. All of your athletic t-shirts either have permanent sweat stains in the armpits or holes in them. The down side that comes with your wardrobe consisting entirely of athletic t-shirts is the fact that you'll wear them so much that the sweat stains become permanent and the shirts begin to break down. Some shirts may even begin to permanently smell like post-workout sweat.
7. You put on a pair of jeans and everyone asks you why you're dressed up. It's going to happen. That one time a semester you wear jeans to class and have your hair down, everyone will stop and ask you why you're so dressed up. That's when you look them all in the face, smile and say “Surprise! I'm actually female!"
8. You're constantly stretching in classes. Your body was not meant to max squat or fitness test, then sit through a long lecture. You will often find yourself standing up in class whenever you can to get a stretch in, or even putting your feet up on the seat in front of you and getting in a quick stretch mid-lecture.
9. You sit all by yourself in classes (and usually in the front row). You will most likely have no one around you in your classes due to the fact that your forehead is still glistening with sweat, you still smell from practice, or the fact that you're the weird person that sits in the front row. It is an unfortunate fact, but one that must be dealt with by nearly all student athletes.
10. You frequent the workout room more than your own dorm. Being a student-athlete, the workout room becomes your second home. You may or may not have contemplated sleeping on the bench-press bench at some point.
11. The team's athletic trainer seconds as your therapist. As an athlete, you become accustomed to the bumps and bruises that come with playing your sport. You also become very well acquainted with your team's athletic trainer. Be it relationship issues or class struggles, your AT is almost always there to listen and offer feedback on your life.
12. You only wear team gear while you're in season. You can always be found sporting your team gear while you're in season. You quickly develop the fear that if you don't wear your team gear, people will not realize that you're a college-athlete and that you willingly look and smell this way.
13. You travel in packs. Whether it be walking to class or to the dining halls after practice, you and your teammates flock together. No matter where you go, everyone knows exactly what team you belong to.
14. You mentally apologize to your fitness coach when you eat poorly. It isn't easy eating well the first year in the dining halls. Meals can often get as rough as eating a plate of curly fries and binging out on ice cream later. You'll often find yourself vocally apologizing to your speed and strength coach for the food you're ingesting, but it's okay -- you'll run it off later.
15. Your teammates are your family. Never do you grow closer to a group of people than you do with your teammates. Though, at times, you may have your differences, you always come back together and form the best second family you could ever hope for in college.
