The amount of times I have heard people talking about how student athletes have an easier time in school, especially college, is amazing to me. It is amazing to me that people will take time out of their day to complain that us student athletes get some kind of privilege from playing a sport for our school. It amazes me how they seem to be so "knowledgeable" about the life of a student athlete, and how we have some kind of luxury. I don't see the luxury.
I want to tell you about my schedule, my easiest day and my hardest day. My easiest days are the days that I do not have class. I wake up at 7:45 to go to the gym, which is on the other campus so I have to drive thirty minutes just to work out. I spend roughly an hour at the gym, then I eat some breakfast and go to rehab for anything I have hurt during my games and practices. After that I grab some lunch and go straight to my practice. After my practice, I get dinner and do some more homework. Then I finally get my rest for the day and go to sleep.
On my busiest day I wake up at seven I the morning to get ready for my eight a.m. class. After that class I go to get breakfast, then study what I can before I go to my next class. After that class I go to lunch, then I head to practice. After practice I make the hour long trek to my next class. Finally, after my next class ends at nine at night, I can go home and relax, while studying some more.
While it is true that some professors may not mark me absent when I have to miss a class due to having a game, most times I am marked absent just like the rest of the students who miss. Our professors are being told not to consider us being an athlete when dealing with any absences or missed or late assignments. Each day hockey takes at least three hours out of it, if not more. I have grown accustomed to completing any homework I have on the bus, traveling to my next game. Oh will not see a professor give a student athlete a break, which they shouldn't, because I know that I signed up for these long hours and stressful days. You will also not see me complain that the non athletes have more time with their day to complete their work, that they didn't have to wake up at four in the morning in order to make their early practice then have to go to their right a.m. lecture right after. You will not see me saying that the non athletes have it better because they aren't held accountable for every single one of their actions. Because that is thejob of a student athlete, we put our heart and soul into our sport and our schoolwork and we succeed in whatever we do, because we are student athletes
