Hey, Sports.
Thanks for having been, and continuing to be, such a huge part of my life. I may not be a D1 athlete, and I may not be playing my way through college instead of paying my way through, but I still have to give a ton of credit to you for making me who I am today. Although I no longer spend every single afternoon at practice or every weekend at tournaments, living that way for so long has helped to prepare me for my current chapter in life, and I’m extremely happy to have learned the work ethic and responsibility that I did as I grew up. As a former athlete, I can’t stress enough how essential you have been in my social, academic, and mental growth throughout my life.
Thank you for introducing me to some of my best friends, bolstering my relationships with my family members, and exposing me to some of the best coaches and role models that I would have never met otherwise. Because of you, I spent my grade and high school years creating bonds with people I never had a class with and had no mutual friends with, and I would have never found them if it weren’t for our shared love of a game. I spent my childhood cheering for my siblings at their sporting events, challenging each other to games of 1v1 in the driveway, and yelling at the game on TV instead of yelling at each other (although I’d be lying if I said that didn’t happen every so often, too). Some of the best advice I’ve ever received has come from my coaches, and more often than not, it had nothing to do with the sport I was playing. Through you, I was able to learn more than I ever imagined about life outside the gym and off the field, too.
Thank you for teaching me to be tough, level-headed, and ambitious both on and off the field. Whether it be a bad call, a bad season, or a bad injury, there was no other choice but to take it in stride and bounce back better than before. Because of you, I’m resilient, determined, competitive, committed, and passionate when it comes to everything I do. When something goes wrong, I get set back from my goal, or I fail at something, I use the misfortune as fuel for making me want to do better than before, instead of it making me want to give up. I enjoy being the underdog because it gives me the chance to prove myself, and without you, I don’t think that would be my mindset. Thank you for teaching me to never lose sight of my goals and to always strive to be better than I was yesterday.
Thank you for making me who I am, even now that my competitive sports career has come to an end. When the final whistle blew for my last “real” game, I immediately wondered what was to come next now that my time as an “athlete” was over. I was nervous, but I’ve come to find that, whether or not I’m playing the game, what I’ve learned from it remains true in all other aspects of my life. I still think like an athlete. I still approach life like an athlete. You’re still there for me when I need you, even if it’s just through grabbing a friend to play the game that has always helped me clear my head. Every day, I do something that I can attribute to what I’ve learned from you, and for that, I can’t thank you enough. Thanks for everything.
Sincerely,
A Former Athlete.
