When I visited home this past weekend, I spent time examining the dusty, neglected and forgotten trophies lining my bedroom shelves from various sports and hobbies of my past. Scattered among athletic and academic certificates were hundreds of photos of high school memories — lacrosse games, horse shows, homecomings, proms and friends who seem to have fallen off the face of the earth. This is what I had done. This was my life.
I think my college self would seem foreign to who I was in high school. Back then, I was involved in any and every social and academic activity — simply because I could be. I was captain of the lacrosse team, class secretary, competitive horseback rider and attendant at every sporting event. For leisure, I played the piano and delved into photography and videography. I had time for everything and time to spare.
The second I got to college, I had every intention to repeat this pattern. After joining the equestrian team, I planned to tryout for the club lacrosse team and run for Student Council. I did it in high school, so surely I could do the same here. Suddenly, the workload hit me. I realized it wasn’t physically possible for me to be as active as I was in high school — especially if I wanted to have a social life. I began to realize I was losing out on some of the activities that had been a huge part of my life in the past.
Most of all, I’ve lost my spare time hobbies. At home, I only glance at the dusty piano while passing it on the steps to my room. I haven’t picked up a heavy-duty camera in a year. Sometimes, I watch old videos I made on my old laptop to reminisce. I wish I could keep up with everything that made me, well, me. College teaches you to truly prioritize.
Ultimately, I’ve gained enough from college to more than fill the holes left by aforementioned losses. Although I’ve drifted from lacrosse, I have joined a sorority — a team of sisterhood. And while I’ve exhausted my photography and videography skills, I’ve put a different kind of creativity to the test by joining The Cavalier Daily and WUVA Online. Maybe my current position is not exactly what I pictured for myself, but I couldn’t be more content with the new experiences. I’ve learned about myself and others, fostered incredible and unexpected relationships and developed an open-minded outlook on situations that don’t go as planned.
Although my life has diverged dramatically from my life in high school, I haven’t lost myself. My pastime sports and activities are a wonderful part of my story and a large contribution to my character, but they don’t define me. My personality, dreams and ambitions — the things that genuinely matter most — have not changed since high school. While losing things may be part of growing up, as long as I continue to look ahead, I will gain more than I ever imagined.
Madison’s column runs biweekly Wednesdays. She can be reached at m.ruddy@cavalierdaily.com.
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