Most athletic people in high school leave their end of the season sports banquettes with a memento of their success during their time on that team or in my case, just a lame team sweatshirt with their last name on the back. High school was a time where everyone was athletic. Everyone played a sport. And most importantly, everyone dealt with the same issues everyday. The typical schedule for a high school student- athlete is pretty conventional across the board:
School
Practice
Eat
Homework (if you actually cared to do any…)
Stay out late with you friends on weeknights
More Netflix
***Repeat***
After most high school athlete’s senior year, their athleticism slowly fades away and they become a new type of person that they never really had the chance to be when they were in high school – they get to be a fan - It has been two years since I graduated high school and I have to admit, I STILL have not had the opportunity to experience what the 'wondrous' life of a non athlete is like in college. When my high school athletic career ended, I was fortunate enough to be one of the select few that were presented with the opportunity to continue it in college. From the point I accepted my scholarship to play golf at Wayne State University I knew that it would be at least four more years until I would be able to know what life would be like an a NARP - but weirdly enough, I am OK with all of it. I can wait to see what life is like as a NARP once I am done with my under grad. With that being said, a brief synopsis of my daily schedule goes a little something like this:
Workout
Practice
Class
Random Meeting
Study
Study
Study
Sleep
****Repeat****
(and somewhere in there you have to find a time to eat)
NARP is an acronym that represents the term, “Non-Athletic, Regular Person”. I am obviously no expert on life as a NARP; however, there are continuous questions I have that run through my mind on a daily basis about how their lives work. And yes, I mist admit that most of these question come running through my head when I am setting my alarm at night for five a.m. They then again run through my alarm when I am eventually woken up by that alarm I had set the night before. But the truth is, the early morning workouts and the early morning tee times are truly worth it because of the experiences and people that I have been fortunate enough to meet throughout my two years as a student athlete.
Yes, I sometimes miss being able to watch the TODAY Show every morning and yes, I sometimes miss out on extra credit opportunities that a professor gives because it is during a practice. So to all my fellow class mates who are NARPS, I envy you for those five points of extra credit you received for attending that boring seminar, but to be honest, I you can keep them because I would not change a single thing about the way I have chosen to go though college.
The hardest part about freshman year was living with two roommates who were not college athletes and did not understand the commitment that it took to be one. I would get so aggravated coming home from a 6 a.m. workout and I would have to be quite because they would not be awake for another 2 hours. I get annoyed when people say having a job is the same as being a student athlete (I prefer not to be friends with the people who say this) because having the opportunity to call in sick or take a day off is not something you are able to do once you are a college athlete - there are no days off.
Like I have already mentioned, I only have two years under my belt here at Wayne State University. But I can truthfully say that I would not change a damn thing. Not one. I can honestly say that I can wait to see what life as a NARP is life until after I graduate college.
