By Kaley Bell
This past week all of the Fordham’s student athletes got together to listen to speaker Dr. Derek Greenfield talk about being there for each other and becoming a family. Dr. Greenfield engaged all of the athletes, forcing us to talk to each and bond with each other in order to learn more about each other. We all got together and shared personal stories that took a lot of courage to tell.
I learned a lot about people whom I have never talked to and some whom I talk to all the time. These conversations revealed how we never really know a person, even when we think we do.
It was during this talk that I thought a lot about the people who I was surrounded with. Even though I was sitting with my team, everyone in Keating 1st Floor Auditorium on Oct. 25 at 7 p.m. all wanted to reach a common goal. We all wanted to represent Fordham well, and we still want to do this.
Being here with these people made me realize I am a part of something big, and that is the student athlete community.
Being a student athlete is not easy. Whoever said that was lying to you. Student athletes are required to go through the same struggles that all the normal college students go through, but with more commitments on their plate.
As a freshman, I did not know what to expect. I was looking forward to being a part of the track team, but I did not know how it would conflict with my day-to-day life.
It has been two months, and I can honestly say that it has been difficult. I’m tired all the time. I feel like I have no time to myself, and I am always running around. Some days I wish for a break, but other days, I know that I must keep going.
It has been a rough adjustment from having practice in the afternoon, to having practice every morning (yes, even on Sundays). In high school, we would practice right after class, and it was not as intense as college practices. We would run a mile warm up every day, and some days that was all we did, but some days we would do a work out on top of the warm up. Workouts then were easy compared to the workouts we do now in college. In general, Division I running is 10 steps up from high school running on grass.
Even though the change has been a lot, I have made some great connections with some great people. All of the freshmen on the team have become my best friends. I am grateful for all of them because we all find ways to make each other better and stronger.
If it weren’t for them, and the rest of the team, I don’t know how I would have made friends on campus. Because of track, I have always been able to make connections easily, and I owe the great friendships I have made to this sport.
