You know, it's a funny thing when everyone tells you that being a student athlete is a hard, hugely rewarding experience. Now, don't get me wrong, both of these things are immensely true. However, I believe that the hardest part of being a student athlete is not what everyone makes it out to be.

Sure, waking up at 4:45 am to get to winter workouts can be brutal, especially when you were up until 2 am working on that 20 page English paper. Having to stay in on a Friday night to abide by the 48 hour rule is sure to have the FOMO kick in. You would be lying if you said that there wasn't one weekend night, or one party that you wanted to go to so bad you considered breaking the NCAA's sacred rule, or maybe even just quitting your sport altogether.

To continue on, the NCAA enforces a strict minimum GPA that every athlete must maintain. Each individual coach may also have a minimum for their given team. Now not only do you have to shine on the field or court, but also in the classroom. So practices, schoolwork, relationships, outside activities, maybe even work, and then whatever family matters you have at home to deal with all start to add the weight to your shoulders. Not to mention, there is only 24 hours in a day, and sleep is more than necessary.

Of course, there is also the entirety of the challenges that come with your given sport. For me, softball was the sport that prided me in being a student athlete. A game that requires so much mental toughness, just escalated with the pressures of being a college student with two majors. Regardless of my year, every single practice and every single game, I had to give my 100% and show my leadership, just to continue to earn my spot on the field and in the lineup.

It is not my intention to scare you out of deciding to be a college athlete, I am just ensuring that you have what it takes, both mentally and physically. Once you decide that you do have what it takes, you're set. Being a student athlete during my fours years of college was the BEST decision I have ever made. It has lead me to so many friendships, memories, opportunities, networks, and life skills. I was able to spend every spring break, playing the game that I love with my best friends in Florida. I was selected to go to Baltimore for a conference to showcase and learn about my leadership skills. I made connections with people that allowed me to boost my resume and add experience in my field of teaching. I could not have asked for more from my experience as a student athlete.

My point throughout all of this, however, is what it does to you after you finish this experience. You work all of these years, so hard, and then become so excited for your senior year. The year to go out with a bang, and really fulfill everything that you had wished for. You have your senior day, where everyone celebrates everything that you did for your organization over the past 4 years. While you are taking in the atmosphere and reliving all of your memories, you realize it will be your last time playing on that field, or that court, with the people that mean the most to you. To say it is a bittersweet feeling is the ultimate understatement. Because then, you are so swept up in getting ready to say goodbye to all of your friends on and off the field, say goodbye to your professors and the town you called home for 4 years. You walk into what could be your last game playing your passion, and you can't help but put that pressure on yourself. And then suddenly, it's over. And a part of you is completely stolen. You feel like a whole is missing in your heart. But don't worry, that will soon be in the back of your mind as you are distracted by graduation, and the goodbyes, and the celebrations. You are sad, but mostly, you are excited to become the adult you have been aspiring to be for the rest of your life.

Then, out of nowhere, that sadness comes back. But it comes back months later, when you do not expect it, not in the very least. You will be at your new job, in the midst of your new career you are hit, hit like a fastball to the stomach. You realize that whole part of your life is gone. You miss your teammates, even more than you already had, or at least realize you had. And then, when you see Snapchats and Instagrams of the season starting and your team going to their annual spring break trip, your heart aches, and you are transported to that exact time last year, when you were still apart of that team. You see someone wearing the jersey number that you once wore with pride. You almost, even have to do a double take. It seems as if this freshman will be living your life. This feeling, is hope. You push away your jealousy that they get to relive the best 4 years of your life, to hope that they make the best of these years. That they appreciate and enjoy every single second, and not make the mistakes that you did.

The point of this whole thing, is that the hardest part of the whole student athlete experience is letting it go. Letting go of the memories, letting go of the position you had on the team, and letting go of your one true passion. The hardest part of the challenges and the sacrifices is actually knowing that there won't be any more. Having the courage and the strength to move on from being that happy is the hardest thing that comes with being a student athlete.