Being an athlete I never really wanted to take the responsibilities that come along with injury because that means sitting out of the sport you love and no athlete wants to do that. I had a rude awakening when I was forced to sit out for the sake of my future mental and physical health.

Last year around this time I was diagnosed with Post Concussion Syndrome better described as being irresponsible and not seeking help for my first concussion causing me to get a concussion on top of a concussion, sounds super dumb I know! I was not allowed to cheer for a month and a half. I had to report to the trainer every day to see if my concussion was getting any better. I was struggling with focusing in school. I missed a lot of work because my headaches were so bad and I was sensitive to noise and light. I was having memory issues and stuttered a lot more while talking and all of this could have been PREVENTED.

As an athlete taking the necessary precautions when having some sort of contact to your head or neck is extremely crucial. If you do not seek help you can end up with long term effects for the rest of your life. I know personally that going through cheerleading there was never attention brought to the severity of a concussion but it is something very serious. You only get one brain and once that one is damaged there is no going back. It is not like a broken bone that will be healed over time.

I think spreading awareness of concussions should be talked about a lot more at the collegiate level. Yes, sports are a huge part of our life now, being college athletes, but we still have a future ahead of us that does not need to be ruined due to irresponsibility and injury.