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Life of a College Athlete

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The Life of a Student Athlete in Another Country
Ever since I was a little boy, I wanted be a student athlete in America. I was just a young child from Australia with a dream. It was all I wanted: it was plan A, B and C. However, this determination and dream blinded me from reality, and now that I am here it is a real shock to the system. It is not all glitz and glamour like portrayed on television and in movies. Being a student athlete in another country comes with a lot of struggles. It is a constant juggling act trying to perform both in the classroom and on the court as well as trying to maintain a healthy lifestyle, all whilst being on the other side of the world from my support network, friends, family and comfort zone.
As student athletes, we are always told that student comes first, and it is true that in order to maintain my spot on the team, I have to perform in the classroom first. For the average students all they see is that I am on the basketball team, and the perks that come with that. People do not see just how demanding the lifestyle is: all they see are the rewards that come with being a student athlete, and it creates assumptions. Fellow students assume that everything is handed to us: people see me falling asleep in class and assume that I was up partying the night before, or people see me missing classes for games and think that I am lucky, but they do not see the extra work and time I have to put in to catch up. They do not see that when I get home from school, I have to get ready for practice, and after a two or three hour practice, I then need to finish all my homework, as well as cook, clean, and buy groceries. People are blinded by what they see on television or hear through the grape vine.
The time and money constraints mean that I need to prioritize: I cannot fit everything in, so I need to make sacrifices. Buying groceries and cooking takes too much time and takeaway is the most convenient option. There is no time for leisure, only sleep. As a result I am eating junk food all the time, I am getting little to no sleep, and I have no time to relax and unwind. This is terrible for both mental and physical well being. I go to school hungry, my eyes are sore, my body feels weak, my joints are hurting and to be brutally honest, I am not happy at all. Living like this is just not sustainable, so something else has to give, because sleeping for four to five hours, eating junk food every meal; going to school and practice tired; along with feeling hungry, sore and depressed, just does not work. The next area of my life that is taking a hit is study; I cannot do 48 hours of study, on top of practice and classes and attempt to live a healthy lifestyle – it just cannot happen. A realistic goal for studying is maybe three hours every weekday, which really only works out to be 15 hours Monday to Friday and this is why so many student athletes fall behind. It is definitely not the glamorous lifestyle that people see on television.
Going to college in a brand new country is difficult. Through all of the struggles with time management, money, cooking, cleaning, buying groceries, and the constant expectations of coaches, teammates, and professors, I am on the other side of the world. I am out of my comfort zone, away from my family and friends, and I feel lost at times. Facetime and messages only do so much, and through the struggles, there is nothing I want more than to just be home with the people who I love. This adds to the stress of the student athlete lifestyle and makes my challenges even harder. One way I am trying to adjust and cope with the struggles of being away from home is by talking to my roommate, Hayden, who is also an Australian. Having that constant reminder of home and someone who can relate to what I am going through, helps to relieve stress and gives me someone I can talk to.
Being a student athlete is not, as it is so often represented in the media. Every day is a battle against time and money. As a student athlete, I have to meet the demands of being a college student whilst maintaining the expectations put on me as an athlete at the school. Because of the constraints on budget and time, I have to prioritize and some tasks whether important or not, are compromised. I am juggling all of these competing demands whilst being on the other side of the country away from my loved ones and support network. However through all the struggle though, comes the experience of a lifetime and it brings achievements, moments and life lessons that I will cherish forever.

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