“I
believe everything happens for a reason. Things go wrong so you can learn to appreciate
them when they are right. And sometimes, good things fall apart so better
things can fall together.” –Marilyn Monroe
Lacing up my shiny cleats, slipping
my shin guards into my socks, wearing my jersey with pride, all I had ever
known from age five, well, up until my freshman year of high school. That scorching
hot August day still plays in my head from time to time, asking myself what I could
have done differently to avoid all of this physical and emotional pain, though
it wasn’t my fault.
We had
all completed the two mile run and most of the drills for the day. The sky
relaxed with shades of pinks and oranges as we were drawing the practice to a
close. We approached the last drill which involved a three versus three drill. It
was my turn and I sprinted into the box, when suddenly I found my body greeting
the ground. The pain in my knee was so excruciating, I wasn’t capable of
letting tears out. I was later told after countless doctor’s appointments and braces
that my Anterior Cruciate Ligament and meniscus in my knee was torn and required surgery. Prior to this, I had no idea these types of injuries could
even occur and couldn’t even imagine going through surgery. After starting my
first day of high school on crutches, I finally moved into a mobile brace. A few
months passed and I arrived at surgery day. Overall, I was so proud of my
attitude and bravery going into the surgery, and it didn’t turn out to be as
terrifying as I thought. From here, I was to complete one year of physical
therapy and was told I would most likely be able to return to soccer. Little did
I know that after all the dedication and hard-work I did in physical therapy, I
would be faced with the toughest challenge thus far. “You will not be able to
play a competitive sport anymore,” were the words that came out of the doctor’s
mouth, a continuous record spinning in my head, even to this day. I loved
soccer and every lesson or thrill that came with it and now I had to imagine my
life without it- impossible.
Many weeks
of tears and unworthiness passed, I couldn’t imagine my purpose in life
anymore. The devastation that came along with this injury was not only
physical, but emotionally draining. Eventually, I was to realize that I cannot
change what happened and could only move forward because there was no use
sulking about something beyond my control. I know for a fact that the only
reason I was able to have the motivation to move on and overcome the fact that
my dreams had been ripped away from me, was the endless support of coaches, my
parents, and my physical therapist. With my growth mindset, I could see that I may
not have been able to continue soccer, but so many other opportunities knocked
on my door. I was able to stick with dance and take four classes instead of
two. There is no doubt that pain and struggle greeted me often at the dance
studio, but I was able to pull out the grit in me and push through, stick with
it. Furthermore, I was able to really focus on developing good study habits and
focus on my studies, as well as obtain a job. A job which exposed me to many
different walks of life, different social situations and exposed me to
constructive conflict. I found ways to engage with different co-workers and
customers and gave myself the opportunity to change my mind and think.
When I look
back, I am still haunted by my injury, but almost grateful in that I learned to
have a positive attitude and outlook during tough times and that everything
really does happen for a reason. Additionally, I now know that every storm will
eventually run out of rain and that the tough times will end, through perseverance
and grit. I also learned never to take
your legs for granted, they help you do almost everything!
Do good things come out of our worst fears? How can this help us cope with challanges in the future?
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