Expectations are hard to live up to- sometimes they are impossible to live up to. People get mad whenever they find out an athlete they like is taking steroids, or some kind of drug to help them do better. Most athletes started the sport really young, so by the time they hit high school or college they can't live without it. To have it taken away from you is like not being able to breath. Most athletes can tell you how much team mates- or themselves- complain about practices, but they would never quit. It's a love hate relationship, but that hate brings out the worst. There is always someone better, there is always people telling you that you could do better. Sometimes athletes thrive in the pressure, it's like an adrenaline rush. Others though, others crack under the pressure; they start to do things they know they will regret, but they can't quit. They won't give up; they don't want to let people down, especially if an old injury is constantly accruing.
A girl I knew once took over 15 ibuprofen at one practice- it didn't even affect her. I made the choice to quit swimming at the beginning of my junior year of high school. The season before I had an MRI done, and it showed nothing was wrong;however at practices I sometimes wouldn't be able to move my arm an inch away from my side. When I went to get my yearly physical done, my doctor told me that if I came back she would schedule a surgery. Now for you to understand I have to explain, the summer before my seventh grade year I was at a swim meet. I lost concentration when it came time to do my flip turn, and knowing I shouldn't have, I did the flip turn anyway ramming my right shoulder into the wall. Ever since then, I've had problems; I was constantly being put on inflammatory medication and repeatedly told by the doctor I shouldn't be swimming competitively anymore. I never quit though- I didn't want to disappoint anyone and I didn't want to give up. So I swam through the pain, but it came to the point where I was taking medication every day all day- in the mornings when I woke up, before and after practices. I didn't want to become addicted, but I needed those if i wanted to continue to swim.
When my doctor said they were going to do surgery, she urged me to stop swimming. She didn't want to schedule it because we had no idea what was wrong with my shoulder. So the surgery could have made the injury worse, or it could have worked out for the best. I didn't want surgery though; I was only 16. So I made the choice to quit, with quitting came the halt of that medication and any pain killers or medicine. Not many athletes get out though; some continue down that road. Sometimes for the best, and sometimes for the worst. Expectations are hard to live up to, especially the high ones.
