If you have a Body, you are an Athlete...but not necessarily a College Athlete

In a campaign by Nike, the sports apparel powerhouse came up with the slogan, "If you have a body, you are an ATHLETE".  But not everyone who is an athlete, is a college athlete.  I am a college athlete and I understand the trials, tribulations, worries, concerns, highs, and lows that come with being an athlete.  Life isn't about always knowing and as a student athlete you have to roll with the punches.

I just completed my second year of D3 college basketball at RIT.  After going through the recruiting process, I selected my college based on academics, because after all, if god forbid something ever happened to one's athletic career and you could not play anymore, you would want to be a school you were going to get a high quality education at and be happy being a regular student.  RIT was not the place for me after my recruiting trip but I kept it on my list of schools simply because it was a great business school.  When I returned for accepted students day, as a regular student, I fell in love with all of the possibilities the school could offer me.  Currently I am studying New Media Marketing with a minor in mass media communications.  I have one year left of classes and two years left of eligibility.  If I graduate from RIT, I will only have the option of playing my last year of eligibility at RIT.  This was the plan from the beginning but if it will remain the plan is TBD.


Sometimes its okay to not over plan, to not plan out every second of your life.  Let life come to you and throw you a curve ball or two, these can often be the best life experiences.  For me everything is up in the air, you grow-up, you learn things, and you change.  Is basketball my main priority anymore, is a top graduate school in my future, will I get a one year MBA from RIT, will I go directly into the workforce, can I turn down a full-time job offer if I have one, these are questions I am okay will leaving open right now.  Nothing is certain and everything is an option.  You will always been an athlete but college does end eventually.  I know though that being a part of college athletics will never be something I look back on and regret being apart of.