When I came to EMU, I felt like I was completely out of my comfort zone. I had come here from a relatively small town, and was around the same group of people from elementary school up until high school. I now realize that I was never truly myself around certain groups of people, as I was always worried about fitting in. When I was recruited here to run track, I was thrilled: I would get to continue doing what I loved—competing—, and get a great education.
` However, due to a knee injury I suffered in high school, I had to get a steroid injection in my knee and started going to physical therapy and rehab. The injury, in addition to not having much of a social life, made me feel drained. I was struggling academically, mentally, and physically, and barely made it through my first semester.
Coming into my second semester, I was able to return to the track team, however, I soon realized that I felt like I didn’t fit in with the rest of the team, and more importantly, I wasn’t enjoying it anymore. While my grades improved, I felt stagnant in terms of my improvement physically, and over time lost more and more motivation to continue running.
At the same time, I began working for the Weather Vane, and continued working as a commentator for EMU Athletics, which I had started a few months prior. Both of these were things I wanted (and still want) to pursue a professional career in, and together they began to encapsulate my interest more than track. As I became more and more involved with these activities on campus and finally started to make friends, I realized I was finally finding what I love. I still love watching, reading, and writing about sports, but the physical toll of playing sports for so long took that love away from me.
In my second year at EMU, I also became more and more involved in my major of Digital Media. I found photography exciting, as it was another interest I could pursue without putting my body on the line, and finally started to improve my grades and mental health. At the beginning of the spring semester, I had decided I no longer loved doing track, and that it would be best for my health, and mental state, if I stepped away from the team. While I was (and still am) grateful for all the opportunities track granted me, I decided it was no longer what was best for me. Writing and commentating felt like the jobs for me. I had finally found different interests that kept both my mental and physical health in good standing—and by keeping up with them, I feel like my life has vastly improved. Through writing and commentating, I have developed professional skills and met life-long friends by finding what I love.
At times, especially in a new environment, it can be hard to find what you love. I turned down opportunities to put myself out there my first few semesters, but now that I have, I’m extremely grateful that I did. The friends I have made, experiences I have gained, and opportunities I have been given have greatly improved my life. Finding what you love can be difficult, and you may not love everything you do, but trying new things gives you a chance of finding something that’ll leave you with lifelong memories.