When universities began to recruit me for their track teams, college began to seem achievable. A whole world of possibility was opened up. Right after my senior year, I found out that CSUB had offered me a scholarship to compete on their track team. Deciding to come study here and be a part of the team was one of the best decisions I've ever made, but it isn't always easy.

Being a college athlete means practice six days a week and usually more than one practice per day. Because of this, very few of us wear "normal clothes" (otherwise known as street clothes). Most of us are always in athletic clothes with hair swept into a bun or ponytail. Often we have to go to class a little smelly, sweaty, hungry and worn out.

On top of practice, my team along with the other sports teams at our school also have community service engagements and attend many games, matches, tournaments, and meets to support other teams. With so many activities, sometimes it's hard to focus on studies, so we also have study hours and team study hall. This forces student athletes to dedicate time to studying, which is great. However, it's also another thing to fill up our busy schedules.

Even after all the hard work comes competition, and this is the fun part! Of course, even competitions can be challenging. As I write this article, I'm on a 10 hour drive in a bus headed to a meet. We left at 5 AM, an I'm missing two classes to be able to compete today. Sometimes professors are very understanding towards student athletes and help us make up anything we miss when we're on the road. Other times, we run into problems. My teammates and I have had to deal with professors that give us a hard time and try to deduct significant percentages off our grades for missing class. Luckily, we have people in the athletic department that fight for us.

Being a student athlete is hard work, but you don't go through it alone. I have coaches that believe in me and teammates that are going through the same thing. We become family. It is an honor and privilege to represent my school on a competitive level. All in all, it is a very rewarding experience and I wouldn't trade it for anything. Go Runners!