Shaped by the Game
I have grown up around sports my entire life. Whether it was my dad cheering against Purdue no matter who they were playing, or my mom upset that our Boys did not win the Super Bowl because, once again, it was supposed to be our year, sports have always been a part of my family. Sports have always been more than just a game to me because they have been a major part of my childhood and the memories that have helped shape the person I am today. As I have grown older and participated in sports, I have learned that being an athlete is not just about the wins, but also about learning, adapting, support and, continuing to grow even when it gets tough. Sports have given me so much, the opportunity to build friendships, develop skills, communication, leadership, and responsibility, and closer bonds built from the wins and the losses that helped teach me lessons deeper than sports. Looking back, I can acknowledge how sports have defined my identity because the lessons, relationships, challenges, and memories I have gained through them have influenced the person I am today and will continue to have an Influence on me in the future.
This is a young picture of me supporting the Dallas Cowboys on Thanksgiving with my mom, showing how sports connected me with others.
One of my earliest memories of sports is going with my family to watch the St. Louis Rams play against the Dallas Cowboys on a hot, sunny day in The Dome at America’s Center, where I had the opportunity to meet the players and go out onto the field after the game, an experience that I did not realize at the time would become such an important part of who I am today. I did not really understand how that moment was going to shape my future then, but now I realize that my deep love for sports started the moment I stepped into the stadium, looked around at the fans, and eventually stepped onto that field, because being surrounded by the excitement made me want to be a part of the game instead of just watching from the stands. The feeling of the grass underneath my feet and the view of the field in front of me started a dream that I carried with me as I grew older, I had that little kid dream of wanting to go pro and experience that feeling for myself someday. Being around sports has always made me feel an abundance of emotions, including joy when my team or I succeed, sadness when we lose or face challenges, and a strong sense of belonging when I am surrounded by teammates, family, and other people who share the same passion. Now that I am older, I understand that sports are much more than games because the experiences, emotions, relationships, and dreams connected to them have helped shape my personality, teach me important lessons, and become a major part of my identity.
This is a picture of me with the artist signing after the Rams Vs. Raiders game when I was younger, moments before I found out who I was going to be.
My identity was tested on March twenty-first when, in the first baseball game of my senior year, I dislocated my shoulder, and in that moment, I did not believe what had happened because I was not going to let myself believe that my season could already be in danger. The thoughts that flowed through my head of disappointment, embarrassment, and feeling like I was failing my team overtook my brain as my dad and I walked to the emergency room across the street to have my shoulder looked at, hoping that it was not as serious as it felt. The first thing I got told by the doctor was, “You dislocated your shoulder,” and I thought nothing of it because I was ready to get back on the field and play, but little did I know that recovery was going to take almost all my senior season away from me. My identity was being tested by my reaction to the injury because I could have allowed the disappointment to take over, but I was not going to let an injury change my mentality or take away the love I had for baseball. I was recommended to have surgery but was also given the option of trying physical therapy and possibly returning for the end of the season, and physical therapy was the only option to me because I was determined to come back not just for myself, but for my team. Even though the injury changed what my senior season looked like, it taught me that being an athlete is not only about being able to play, but also about staying determined, supporting your teammates, and continuing to work toward your goals when things do not go the way you planned.
This is my first picture back from dislocating my shoulder, this shows what sports meant to me, to work back to being able to help my team.
Growing as an athlete, you learn that winning is not everything; instead, sports are about learning, adapting, and continuously growing even when you are faced with adversity, because some of the most important lessons come from difficult moments rather than successful ones. I never understood how sports would give me lifelong connections and relationships with friends, coaches, teammates, and even people who have continued to support and guide me as I have gotten older, but looking back, many of the people who have had the greatest impact on my life are people I met through athletics. Through years of playing sports, I have come to understand the importance of teamwork, that failing is not the point of a loss but rather learning and growing from mistakes, and that there is no such thing as perfection because there is always room for improvement both on and off the field. Sports have taught me how to communicate with others, be a leader, accept challenges, and keep working toward goals even when things do not go as planned, lessons that have shaped the way I approach school, friendships, and everyday life. As an athlete my whole life, I never would have thought sports would become such a huge reason for my growth as a person, but they have helped form my identity by teaching me values and creating relationships that will stay with me long after my playing days are over.
This picture is the last time I had my basketball jersey on in highschool. It looks like I’m disappointed about the loss, I am, but I’m disappointed about never playing high school basketball with my best friends again. I know now that those friendships are for life.
Some athletes play sports for competition, because they are forced to, because of the opportunities they can gain, or simply because they enjoy the challenge, but for me, I played for the friendships, bonds, memories, and my love for being active, because the people I met and the experiences I had become more important to me than winning every game. Everyone has different experiences in sports, whether that means switching sports, going to college to continue playing, trying something completely new, playing the same sport their whole lives, or eventually deciding that sports are no longer something they want to be a part of, and each of these experiences can shape a person in a different way. My experiences in sports can be vastly different from others, and that is one of my favorite parts of sports because the reasons people play, the emotions they experience, and the lessons they take away can all be completely different depending on who they are and what they have gone through. Sports have taught me that not everyone sees sports the same way I do and understanding that has helped me appreciate other people’s experiences instead of assuming that everyone plays for the same reasons or gets the same things out of being an athlete. Looking back at my own journey, I realize that sports have shaped me through the friendships I have made, the challenges I have faced, and the lessons I have learned, while also showing me that our experiences do not have to be the same for sports to have a meaningful impact on our lives and identities.
This is a picture of me and some teammates working together to help fix this run down garage in a run down neighborhood, showing that sports can bring you closer and can help others.
Sports are one of, if not the largest, parts of my identity, and they have influenced many parts of the person I am today by shaping my mindset, relationships, and the way I approach challenges. My childhood played a huge role in helping make me who I am, as well as my family pushing me to be the best I can be and supporting me through the good and bad moments that came with being an athlete. Sports have not always been the best for me, whether that was dealing with injuries, losses, or moments where I questioned myself, but the mental changes those experiences brought to me have broadened my view of things both inside and outside of sports. I learned more about myself from sports than I think anything else ever could have because they taught me how to handle failure, work with others, stay determined, and continue moving forward when things do not go my way. My identity is not defined by just one experience; instead, it has developed because of the people I have met, the challenges I have faced, and the experiences that have changed the way I view the world and, most importantly, myself.