By: Sofia Cerebuch
Every human being in the course of his or her existence develops different “selves” that altogether make up the entire character, emotions, abilities–in short, the person himself or herself. When we begin to cultivate a passion, a side is born within us that comes out and lives independently whenever we do what we love. I love playing volleyball, and I know that I am split in half. there is one side, which is commanded by Sofia, a simple girl, who tries to survive in a demanding world of daily challenges; then there is other side, that of the Sofia athlete, who lives by physical and mental challenges, who dreams big and wants to see all her aspirations realized. These two sides of me, coexisting in the same body, sometimes get along, but sometimes they are in conflict. It often happens that one side prevails over the other, sometimes taking me from one extreme to the other. Let me try to explain: during the sports season, the upper hand has always been held by the sports Sofia, who like a machine pushes her body and mind to the limit, as she has to have the ability to hold everything together without leaving anything behind, whether it’s school, training, physical health and so many other basic details. The problem is that when the season ends, it is up to the simple girl Sofia to pick up the pieces on the road, take care of them and put them back together.
Being a student athlete is not easy, in addition to the demands and goals coming from yourself, the outside also pushes on all fronts for everything to work out perfectly. It means being organized, stubborn, leaving nothing to chance, pushing your physique to the limit and squeezing your brain to keep everything together and working. In my case, the Sofia athlete who lives in the United States, in the capital city of Alabama, atends school at Auburn University at Montgomery, wakes up every morning at 5:45 a.m., goes to practice, works out weights, takes care of her physique, and more before 10 a.m. Then there’s classes, studying and the various meetings and appointments we are subject to take on. Being a serious student athlete, means putting one’s sporting success and building one’s future ahead of having fun with friends, quality time with one’s family, but also a simple personal space made for resting or relaxing. The truth is that to be a student athlete, one must have courage, guts and must never give up, because in that case, I would still be on the couch at home in Trieste, Italy.
Being a student athlete, a volleyball player, is really great. It can happen that as in a long love affair, the passion can wane, and it is up to you or your parter to find a way to rekindle the flame. Here in the same way it works for athletes and one’s sport, it runs through our veins, but every now and then, especially after so many years we feel the need for a break. Obviously being a student athlete does not allow such a free and drastic decision, but what one can do is to find spaces to devote oneself to and cultivate other passions, because often monotony can lead us to hate what has always given us so much instead. This decline in interest can lead to various facets, from a decline in sports performance, to widespread annoyance with every aspect concerning the sport itself to even getting angry with oneself, because in addition to the situation that is unleashed externally there is the one that takes place internally and it is certainly the most devastating. To tie it back in regarding the different internal selves in an athlete, this is precisely the time when the side of the person has to silence the voices in the jock’s head, has to convince him or her that it is just a momentary transition, and that what has been fundamental in your life for so long cannot disappear into thin air, but probably just needs a little spark to rekindle and fuel that fire that has been a real blaze over the years.
