Recently, I have seen lots of Tweets and pictures surrounding “the grind” of student athletes. Honestly, at first I laughed. As an athlete, it was pretty funny to see how other people perceive me. It is true that many student athletes include something athletically based in their profile bios, often talk about being an athlete, and quote bible verses. I’m not denying that these tweets have some validity because there are definitely athletes who go slightly over the top by mentioning their athleticism during every conversation.

Though after the fiftieth tweet I saw that poked fun at student athletes, I became a little annoyed. Sure, many athletes in society are seen as celebrities and are given higher status for their achievements, but for the everyday athlete, this is not the case. Unless athletes are playing at professional levels or top-level division I programs, they do not receive much publicity or appreciation. Most people do not understand the toll it takes, both physically and emotionally, to play a sport.

So go ahead and make fun of how athletes are always talking about “the grind.” The grind is what gets us through the day. Waking up at 6am, weight lifting until our muscles give out, running until our legs can no longer move and practicing until we just about pass out requires a certain level of motivation. It requires a lot of grit and determination. We push ourselves every day. Especially at the collegiate level, playing a sport takes a lot of time and energy. I run from practice to class to film to dinner to class. I barely have a moment to breathe.

I manage to volunteer, babysit, go to class, keep my GPA up and have a little fun, and so do many other student athletes. We also dedicate the time of a full time job to sports. Sports consume our lives, so I’m sorry if that’s what we talk about most often. When our days are filled with practices, conditionings, lifts, film sessions and coaches meetings, it’s hard to keep sports off the brain. Sports also made us confident individuals and we are excited about our accomplishments. So excuse us for having a little pride in ourselves. Frankly, we earned it.