A Reflection on Four Years of Volleyball
Faster than I ever could have imagined, it was senior night already. I’ve probably spent at least 1,000 hours in JB Hall for practice. I’ve earned hundreds of scrapes, bruises and sore muscles from my daily two hour practices, bi–weekly games, and even weekend tournaments.
Like any athlete I’ve complained. It's a difficult job balancing sports and academics, this year with college applications too–plus everything else I’m involved in.
Yet, as I stood in front of my co-captain as she read her dedication to me out loud in front of my family, friends and teammates, I couldn’t help but think of how impactful Notre Dame's athletics have been on me.
It's all been worth it. Not getting home until 10 P.M., spending my entire Saturdays at tournaments, sacrificing my grades for a few months.
It's a big commitment but the gift of lifelong friends that volleyball has given me makes up for it all.
Through volleyball I’ve met my best friends. I drive my two favorite underclassmen to all our games, we get pre-game dinner and sing karaoke as we trek the long hour up highway 280.
I met my first friend at Notre Dame because of volleyball. We both were quite unskilled when we started, but we worked hard together and made varsity our junior year.
I even fell more in love with journalism because of volleyball. One of my favorite seniors from last year worked on the paper with me, and while we were trauma-bonded from our volleyball season, we got even closer in the newsroom. This ultimately inspired me to be an editor-in-chief, because I saw what an impact she was making.
What’s important to learn from my experiences is that I should never take the grueling for granted. Sure it's easy to feel overworked, but I have a team doing it with me supporting me every step of the way.
Whether your thing is sports, or something else, don't just appreciate the easy times, appreciate the hard ones too.
Every injury, every setback and all adversity I’ve faced because of volleyball, might just be why I love it so much. On the same side of the net, are 14 other girls who go through the same thing every day, yet we persevere and connect because we love the sport and each other so much. Nothing could ever replace that.
