I am a student athlete for a Division I university. This is my junior year of college, and I play golf for Arkansas State University. Lately, I’ve heard of many student athletes, not just golfers, and not just at ASU, who have compared themselves to “normal students.” Most of the responses were that their peers don’t understand what these student athletes go through every single day. I’ve put together a brief list of some things we would like for you to know.

1. Just because I have some scholarship money doesn't mean I have my whole school paid for.

Most people think that if we are on a team, then we get all of our education paid for, and that’s not always the case. There is a system that coaches have to follow. They get a certain number of scholarships to give out. So, if there are 5 scholarships to distribute amongst 10 people, then obviously not everyone is going to get a full-ride. Also, most of our athletic scholarships vary year by year on how much we improve or if we win the NCAA championship. With improvement comes more privileges, and none of that is just handed to us. We have to work for it. At my school, the volleyball team and track teams won their conference titles, so they get rewards such as a newly paved track or locker rooms. The more you work, the more you get noticed and rewarded.

2. Don't be offended if I change our plans last minute.

Student athletes are on a strict schedule bound by their coaches. What they say, goes. If our coach decides to have a meeting two hours from now, you drop whatever it is you’re doing in two hours and you go. Student athletes put more hours into their practices, meetings, tournaments, workouts, tutoring sessions, games, etc. than a full-time employee for a big company. Student athletes devote most of their time to their sport, so that means we don’t have time for certain activities that most “normal” students would, like going shopping or even getting a job. We barely have time to go from class to practice. Most of the girls on my team don’t even eat lunch in between class and practice because they don’t have enough time to stop. Most of our days are not open, and the days we finally get an off day, we want to enjoy that off day or catch up on some homework (or sleep).

3. 6:00 a.m. workouts are real.

They are no joke. Waking up at 5:30 (at the latest) for most of the week is a real task in itself. Then meet your whole team at the gym to do whatever a Split-Stance Single-Arm Face-Pull is for about an hour and fifteen minutes. If you’re late, we all run. If you don’t match (down to the shoes), we all run. If you’re sick, keep up. There are no excuses and no mercy in morning workouts.

4. I am going to ask to borrow your notes.

Makeup assignments are going to happen. We will be gone for at least two days out of the week (at least for golf), and we obviously won’t be in class while we’re away for a tournament. Be patient. We can’t help it. In other words, if we don’t have friends in class who are willing to catch us up on what we missed, we will be lost. In “student athlete,” student comes first, and we may need some help along the way.

5. I wouldn't trade it for the world.

This team is our family. We love each other, and we care for one another. Our coaches are like our “college parents,” and they are always looking out for us. Being a Division 1 athlete is tough. There is a lot of hard work and responsibility that goes into it. If you don’t have good chemistry with your teammates, you will not enjoy it. You spend 95% of your time with your teammates. I’m so lucky to have a team that is made up of so many people who get along with each other and love each other so much. So yes, being a collegiate athlete is difficult, but the time we spend together is worth everything.