Dedication

Today I was out for my morning ride after working out. By ride I mean I was riding my bike, which is great exercise if you don't remember your childhood. It's kinda funny though, because most college soccer athletes won't go for bike rides in the morning. They'll go for a morning run, take out a ball and go for a kick-about in the park. Of course I am not a normal college soccer athlete. My soccer career was turned upside down when I destroyed my knee playing. This is the second round of recovery for me, and hopefully the last. So instead of being able to go for a run or do normal lower body workouts that everyone else can do, I ride my bike. I ride so that I can get healthy and strong again. I ride for my rehab, both mental and physical. I ride so I can have my hour to listen to music and see the streets of Sacramento and Elk Grove.

Oftentimes on my rides I am overcome by some form of grief. Because of my inability to do what I actually want to do, I am stuck riding a bike for hours at a time to try to get the strength back that I originally built up two years ago. Following grief comes determination. I am determined to get stronger again and get back to what I really want to do. I am determined to prove everyone, including myself, wrong, that I really can be healthy again, the same person that I was before anything ever happened. I'm determined to get back to being the same person athletically that I was before, with all the skill and talent that is still somewhere in this body. But then after determination comes an almost defeated feeling. The feeling that even when I get back to being healthy, maybe I'll never play again. The feeling that my knee will never be the same again and that I can just hope that it will hold up for the rest of my life and I won't have anymore major problems with it. And the feeling that maybe it just wasn't meant to be.

The point of this is simply dedication. There are thousands of people that are really good at sports but never get over the edge. Injury, lack of motivation, or just not having the right opportunities can stop a person from reaching their full potential in whatever their craft may be. When I watch professional sports on television, I sometimes notice players who just don't seem interested. I notice players who aren't giving it their all at all times. And I can't help but think of other people who have the talent but just never had the chance and would do anything to be in that spot. This is why sometimes I hate sports. Because sometimes the people that play don't seem to deserve it. But I love sports at the same time. I see players that dedicate themselves to the game. They give it their all at all times to be the best that they can be, for themselves and for everybody that is watching them. I love to see a person that dedicates himself to become better every single day. I love to see a person with a chance to make it and takes it. And I love to see a person who was beat down to get back up and make it. It all takes dedication.

That is all