I Will Leave my Mark by Faith

I Will Leave my Mark by Faith - November 2023 Scholarship Essay

The summer of my junior year every athlete's worst nightmare became a reality for me. In a recreational soccer game, I heard the dreaded pop in my knee. I knew exactly what had happened the second I hit the ground. Yet, I did as any young athlete would do and pushed through it. After a handful of appointments, tests, and imagining we finally had the results. I had completely torn my ACL and required surgery. My season was over and at the moment it felt like my life too. One game that meant nothing had just turned my whole life upside down. Soccer was my whole life and because of one person, it was just ripped away from me. It all felt so unfair, but I knew sitting around and feeling sorry for myself wasn't going to get me back onto the field- hard work was. Now I was going to be spending every day in the athletic training room for the next year whether I liked it or not.
During this time, I developed a really good relationship with my school's athletic trainers. Every step of the way, I had their full support, I could not have imagined a better treatment team. They all celebrated the milestones with me and supported me at the setbacks but yet I still felt so alone. I felt like they just couldn't understand where I was coming from and what I was feeling. As the athlete, the only thing I cared about was getting back onto the field and it was hard for me to see the bigger picture. When people would tell me that my goals were unrealistic, I just thought they were fighting against me when really they were keeping me safe.
After 10 long months of physical therapy every day, the blood, sweat, and tears I put into my recovery finally paid off. Nothing was more rewarding than being able to tell my team that I got my clearance. Now that I'm able to take a step back and see the bigger picture I can see that without the support of my athletic trainer I wouldn't have been able to succeed as well as I did. She pushed me when I needed to be pushed, held space when I needed to vent, and celebrated when there were times to celebrate. After seeing the huge impact that my athletic trainer had on me, I realized that I wanted to help other athletes that are in situations like mine. Whether it's a harder injury to overcome or an easier one I believe that every athlete deserves to have someone in their corner supporting them every step of the way. I have been in the athlete's shoes, so I know exactly how they are feeling, and I can empathize with them.
I not only want to help athletes with the physical aspect of healing an injury but support them with the mental aspect. I also want to be able to change the negative associations with the training room. I want young athletes to feel like they have a safe space to go to where they can feel comfortable. I don't want them to feel how I did about the training room- it is so much more than a place people go when they want to get benched. There's a lot of lack of education on what athletic trainers do, I want to change that.
My ACL journey not only showed me my passion for helping other athletes going through something similar to me but also my passion for research. I did a lot of research during the time I was out and it was just so fascinating to me how many different opinions and approaches there are for different protocols- specifically acl. I find it so fascinating how sports medicine evolves as they do more research. It's so intriguing to me when an old theory gets improved upon because that means the young athletes are getting the absolute best care possible. I also found it heartbreaking how many athletes were getting poor care because of the pure lack of research and then ultimately suffered another injury.
Last and most definitely not least, I want every athlete to feel like their voice is heard. During my ACL journey, I felt heard and supported but that wasn't always the case. I had an injury to my hip that lasted many years, and I had seen many doctors, and no one could figure out why I was in so much pain. Eventually, people just told me it was in my head and kind of gave up on treating me. I never want another athlete to feel the disappointment of having their treatment team give up like that. It's so common for athletes' pain to be dismissed as in your head, or overreacting, that isn't something I want any athlete to ever experience. Every athlete deserves to feel heard and supported no matter how big or small the injury. Every athlete deserves to be able to play their sport safely and pain-free and enjoy it. I want to give other athletes the chance that I never got.
College is so important to me because I am determined to make my mark on this world a positive one for the younger generations, breaking down one barrier at a time alongside the future of our communities.