You think being a student is hard? Try going to a 6 a.m lift, showering and heading straight to class. Then sitting through two, maybe three classes is not easy. Try going to watch film directly after finishing a two hour practice, ice bath, rehab, showering, and running to the cafeteria before all the good food is gone. On top of this, still having to study, write papers, complete homework, and finish any other tasks that may need to be done before the day is over. Yeah, try doing that everyday.

As an athlete I believe that a lot of people have a general misunderstanding about student athletes. Those who are not student athletes perceive us as being more privileged. Yes, we get to travel and get the latest Nike gear, however that nowhere near compares to all the behind the scenes work that has to been completed. Numerous hours of hard work are necessary to look nice shooting that three pointer, scoring that goal, hitting that home run, scoring that touchdown, and crossing through that finish line. We as student athletes have to put in so much work that a lot of people fail to see when looking at us. We were not aware that arriving back to campus at 2 a.m after an away game and having to go to that 8 a.m biology lab was considered being privileged.

Student athletes are students first and foremost before we are athletes. This means that we still have to do everything else that other students have to do. We still have to maintain a certain GPA to remain eligible to play our sport and to keep our scholarships. All the same things that apply for regular students still apply to us student athletes.

We do love our sports and are truly blessed we can partake in them, but they do not define us as people.