Lehigh University Athletics
From the Future: Dear First-Year Sarah...
4/21/2017 2:00:00 PM | Student Athlete
Dear First-Year Sarah,
In fourth grade you were sent home with a letter from your teacher who was concerned as to why you were crying about a 93. You were upset that it "wasn't perfect." The funny thing is, you'll dedicate your college career to not being perfect because Multi has to master seven events and accept that she simply doesn't have time to be perfect at every one. Student-athletes have a radically different life than their peers and must accept that they may not be perfect in school. Any 20-something year-old in 2017 is bombarded with a million different sources telling him/her what to do and who to be. Well guess what… achieving perfection is impossible. Recognizing the value in imperfection will be an awfully turbulent journey, so at this time make sure your seat backs and tray tables are in their full upright position and your seatbelts are securely fastened.
You're on the start line for the 800.
This is the only event you have complete control over, and YOU decide your destiny. The hardest part? Heading into the 600m mark and everything hurts. You could just give up at any step, but you hear that tiny whisper saying, "Hold on. It's worth it."
After the initial high that is the first few months as a first-year at Lehigh, the reality of being a student athlete is going to set in. I want you to know that you belong here. Preseason is going to knock you down and make you question how you possibly were recruited and your first round of four o'clocks will make you wonder how Admissions possibly let you in, but I need you to have faith that you'll come out stronger at the end of the hard times. You and Karen will have late-night roommate talks about how you're never going to make the Patriot League roster and you don't know what you're doing, but if you can believe me, senior year you'll be a captain who takes Gold in the pentathlon. Embrace the hard workouts and the late study nights, because every time you silence the voice telling you to give up, you come out 1% stronger. Hold on, it's worth it.
As you enter sophomore year and start to solidify your friend group and support base, you'll realize that not everyone is looking out for your best interest. Stop living for other people. Seeking validation through other people is guaranteed to hurt you in the end. If someone doesn't like you, that doesn't make your value less. They just can't see it, and that's fine. They aren't meant for you then. You're going to learn the hard way that people will let you down, but you can't let it destroy you. You'll think he's crazy, but Coach Matt will tell you that emotions are fake and they're just a figment of your imagination. So why let them dictate your life? Learn to manage them. You decide how you react to disappointments and heartbreaks. It will take time and practice, but reflect on the positive things about yourself. Hold onto them when you're drowning yourself in negativity. You're worth pulling through.
Speaking of Coach Matt, things will be a lot easier if you accept early on that your coach can also be a friend. At first you're going to wonder why he wants to know about your personal life, why he even cares, but later you'll realize that being close to your coach is the only way you're going to succeed. You'll go from shunning him at practice to divulging your deepest, darkest secrets during long road trips in the Multi van.
Two devastating days of junior year will mark the biggest turning point in your athletic career. Indoor Championships at Boston University you're going to pull your hamstring in the middle of the Multi and will barely be able to walk. But giving up four events into a pentathlon will feel like a waste of an investment. With tears in your eyes, Tim will mummify your leg and you'll hobble to the line of the 800. Limping four laps to see if you can scrap up any points won't even feel real because for once, you won't have control over your race. The team will walk in too late to see what's happened, and as you wipe away the tears and point to the ace bandages as an explanation, hold onto that moment. Exactly one year later, you'll be crossing that same line in Boston, crying for a much better reason.
So you come to Outdoor Championships with a vengeance. Plot twist-- you're going to fall. It's never happened in your college career, yet it will happen at the most important meet possible. You're going to have the best start to a hurdle race in your life, feeling fast and smooth, and before you know it you trip and you're almost on the ground, watching hundreds of points go out the window. You're going to scream and cry and punch the ground at the finish line because your worst nightmare happened and it seems like you blew your shot. Coach Matt will crouch down to you, his eyes an even brighter blue on that cloudy day, and he will tell you that you have a choice. You can give up and not finish the Heptathlon, or you can come back fighting. You know that a good Multi has to be able to shake off the bad events so they don't ruin what's left, so your choice was clear. You weren't going to let both indoor and outdoor be taken from you. Once you wipe away the tears, you're going to have the best meet of your life and still place 4th. I'd say it was worth holding on.
Senior year, the gods must have collaborated to make for the best close to your college career possible: Indoor championships at your first home in Boston, and Outdoor championships at your second home, here at Lehigh. You're going to fight tooth and nail for Gold in the pentathlon, knowing that you worked four years for it, patiently waiting in line to join the Lehigh Multi PLC dynasty. When you're coming down the last 50m of the 800 and BU is pulling away from you, you'll realize that if you don't pick it up, the title could be taken from you right there. You'll think your legs can't move any faster, but remember that tiny voice. This is worth it. You want this. Hold on a little longer.
It worked.
Senior year will fly. You're going to watch your first-year and sophomore Multis grow, facing the same trials and tribulations that you did. You strive to steer them in a better direction than you took and save them some trouble along the way. By the time you're a senior, you will have come a very long way. And I am so proud of who you become. But now what? So you figure "it" out just in time to graduate and leave? The future from here is scary because for the first time since starting Pre-K, the next step isn't already planned for me. This automatically feels like it's going to be a disaster, but I'm trying to get excited for it. As you'll learn, all you can do is step on the line, and when it gets tough just hold on. It's worth it.
-Senior Sarah
In fourth grade you were sent home with a letter from your teacher who was concerned as to why you were crying about a 93. You were upset that it "wasn't perfect." The funny thing is, you'll dedicate your college career to not being perfect because Multi has to master seven events and accept that she simply doesn't have time to be perfect at every one. Student-athletes have a radically different life than their peers and must accept that they may not be perfect in school. Any 20-something year-old in 2017 is bombarded with a million different sources telling him/her what to do and who to be. Well guess what… achieving perfection is impossible. Recognizing the value in imperfection will be an awfully turbulent journey, so at this time make sure your seat backs and tray tables are in their full upright position and your seatbelts are securely fastened.
You're on the start line for the 800.
This is the only event you have complete control over, and YOU decide your destiny. The hardest part? Heading into the 600m mark and everything hurts. You could just give up at any step, but you hear that tiny whisper saying, "Hold on. It's worth it."
After the initial high that is the first few months as a first-year at Lehigh, the reality of being a student athlete is going to set in. I want you to know that you belong here. Preseason is going to knock you down and make you question how you possibly were recruited and your first round of four o'clocks will make you wonder how Admissions possibly let you in, but I need you to have faith that you'll come out stronger at the end of the hard times. You and Karen will have late-night roommate talks about how you're never going to make the Patriot League roster and you don't know what you're doing, but if you can believe me, senior year you'll be a captain who takes Gold in the pentathlon. Embrace the hard workouts and the late study nights, because every time you silence the voice telling you to give up, you come out 1% stronger. Hold on, it's worth it.
As you enter sophomore year and start to solidify your friend group and support base, you'll realize that not everyone is looking out for your best interest. Stop living for other people. Seeking validation through other people is guaranteed to hurt you in the end. If someone doesn't like you, that doesn't make your value less. They just can't see it, and that's fine. They aren't meant for you then. You're going to learn the hard way that people will let you down, but you can't let it destroy you. You'll think he's crazy, but Coach Matt will tell you that emotions are fake and they're just a figment of your imagination. So why let them dictate your life? Learn to manage them. You decide how you react to disappointments and heartbreaks. It will take time and practice, but reflect on the positive things about yourself. Hold onto them when you're drowning yourself in negativity. You're worth pulling through.
Speaking of Coach Matt, things will be a lot easier if you accept early on that your coach can also be a friend. At first you're going to wonder why he wants to know about your personal life, why he even cares, but later you'll realize that being close to your coach is the only way you're going to succeed. You'll go from shunning him at practice to divulging your deepest, darkest secrets during long road trips in the Multi van.
Two devastating days of junior year will mark the biggest turning point in your athletic career. Indoor Championships at Boston University you're going to pull your hamstring in the middle of the Multi and will barely be able to walk. But giving up four events into a pentathlon will feel like a waste of an investment. With tears in your eyes, Tim will mummify your leg and you'll hobble to the line of the 800. Limping four laps to see if you can scrap up any points won't even feel real because for once, you won't have control over your race. The team will walk in too late to see what's happened, and as you wipe away the tears and point to the ace bandages as an explanation, hold onto that moment. Exactly one year later, you'll be crossing that same line in Boston, crying for a much better reason.
So you come to Outdoor Championships with a vengeance. Plot twist-- you're going to fall. It's never happened in your college career, yet it will happen at the most important meet possible. You're going to have the best start to a hurdle race in your life, feeling fast and smooth, and before you know it you trip and you're almost on the ground, watching hundreds of points go out the window. You're going to scream and cry and punch the ground at the finish line because your worst nightmare happened and it seems like you blew your shot. Coach Matt will crouch down to you, his eyes an even brighter blue on that cloudy day, and he will tell you that you have a choice. You can give up and not finish the Heptathlon, or you can come back fighting. You know that a good Multi has to be able to shake off the bad events so they don't ruin what's left, so your choice was clear. You weren't going to let both indoor and outdoor be taken from you. Once you wipe away the tears, you're going to have the best meet of your life and still place 4th. I'd say it was worth holding on.
Senior year, the gods must have collaborated to make for the best close to your college career possible: Indoor championships at your first home in Boston, and Outdoor championships at your second home, here at Lehigh. You're going to fight tooth and nail for Gold in the pentathlon, knowing that you worked four years for it, patiently waiting in line to join the Lehigh Multi PLC dynasty. When you're coming down the last 50m of the 800 and BU is pulling away from you, you'll realize that if you don't pick it up, the title could be taken from you right there. You'll think your legs can't move any faster, but remember that tiny voice. This is worth it. You want this. Hold on a little longer.
It worked.
Senior year will fly. You're going to watch your first-year and sophomore Multis grow, facing the same trials and tribulations that you did. You strive to steer them in a better direction than you took and save them some trouble along the way. By the time you're a senior, you will have come a very long way. And I am so proud of who you become. But now what? So you figure "it" out just in time to graduate and leave? The future from here is scary because for the first time since starting Pre-K, the next step isn't already planned for me. This automatically feels like it's going to be a disaster, but I'm trying to get excited for it. As you'll learn, all you can do is step on the line, and when it gets tough just hold on. It's worth it.
-Senior Sarah
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