By Maria Trivelpiece

Becoming a student-athlete in college was probably one of the best decisions I have made in my lifetime, so when I was asked to write this column, I was exuberant. However, in my four years as a softball player at Fordham University, I have found that the grind is more difficult than I would have ever guessed. Everyone told me it was going to be hard, but I believed I was ready for the challenge. I do not think I realized how hard and how demanding it is. This past week was the perfect example of the things that they do not warn you about.

Monday looked like this: two classes in the morning, treatment on my sore shoulder, two meetings, my internship and then a night class that let out at 8:45 p.m. After my night class, I finished homework for the following day and fell asleep.

On Tuesday I had a weightlifting session in the morning, practice and class. Then, I headed off campus to film for my journalism class, ate dinner, did homework and then wrote articles for work until I fell asleep.

Wednesday was game day, but first I had to write a paper. I had to call out from work. We played and lost; after I had to head to another night class.
Thursday is a heavy class day on top of practice and packing for our road trip to George Mason. I wrote for a few hours, edited a video project and went to daily mass, since I was probably going to have to miss church on the weekend.

On Friday, we drove to George Mason. I studied on the bus for the two tests I had the following Monday. We traveled for six hours, ate dinner and went to bed.

On Saturday, we played two games and won them both. We finally arrived back at the hotel at 8 p.m. after being gone since 9 a.m. I showered, finished some homework and then hit the pillow again.

Sunday saw another game, then a six-hour trip back home. We arrived on Fordham’s campus at 10 p.m. at night… and those two tests on Monday were not going to study for themselves. So, I was up late yet again. The following morning, I woke up to do the past week on repeat.

This has been my life for the last four years, and with graduation approaching, I do not know what I will do with myself in a few months. But there will be more on that in future columns.