Dear Highscool Athlete

2 weeks and 4 finals away from finishing my freshman year. If I would have been told a year ago that I would be running in college and that I would meet some great people outside of my little hometown, I would probably not pay much attention. I learned really quickly that this is not what I thought it would be. So I thought about how nice it would be if I could have said: Dear High School Athlete, Senor year feels like its gong by quick huh? Times is flying by and you feel like all of the struggles being a senior are piling up. Graduation, prom, scholarships, applications to schools, how can you finish up all of this stuff, work, study, and run? Its ok you will do alright. Lucky for you, you have already signed with a college away from Mom and Dad. You might think that you have grown up already, but trust me you haven’t yet... You might think that it’s all flowers and butterflies once you get out of high school, but sorry to tell you, it 10 times worse outside of high school. The homework that you could turn in 4 mins before class in pre-calculus, just looked like tic tac toe compared to the stuff you are about to see. No more having fun all week and expecting to make an A on your test anymore. You will study for a week straight to make a C in some classes (Don’t worry you aren’t the only one). You know that Track and field MVP trophy sitting in your room, yah no one cares about that in college. The guys on your tea that used to try so hard to keep up with you on your easy runs laugh at you, because you are the one that gets left in the dust now that you are on a team with 3 time all Americans that you hope one day you can at least see finish at the end of a tempo run. You actually have to work hard now. Crazy right? But in the long run this is going to make you better. Sure sometimes you are going to wish you didn’t do it anymore, but you will always remember your teammates who feel a little more like family now. Things are going to change a lot, but I promise they will be for the better. Live it up in high school now, because you don’t have that much time left until you get to see busy schedule really is. Best of Luck, College Athlete