After playing soccer for more than 15 years with the goal of playing at the collegiate level, I never would’ve expected to leave the sport after my first year at the 91´«Ã½.

Even more unexpected was the decision to join tennis at age 19, with zero prior experience. 

While stepping away from soccer and learning tennis were both incredibly challenging, I’m grateful for every part of that experience. Through my time on the field and on the court, and the short time in between, I have gained a lot of valuable experience.

As you can imagine, being a student athlete offers plenty of benefits that we’re all more or less familiar with. For example, learning time management, finding a way to stay active, and developing mental resilience are just a few of the more obvious perks. And, while these are all advantages I did experience, the most valuable lesson I learned was to pursue interests and opportunities when given the chance.

Tennis is something I had only spectated before, but always looked like a lot of fun. However, I never considered trying it, simply because I was always too busy with school, soccer, and work. When I stepped away from soccer, suddenly I had hours of spare time and the opportunity to try something new.

Long story short, tennis turned out to be my new favorite sport, a great way to meet awesome teammates, and a hobby that I plan to enjoy moving forward.

But even beyond that, I realized the value of pursuing interests and finding time to experience new things. As my college career is coming to an end, I often think about the many ways my time here could have looked. What if I had continued with soccer? What if I had quit, but didn’t join another sport? What if I did something different all together? While I’ll never know the full answer to those questions, I do know that I would’ve missed out on something I really enjoy. And because of that possibility, I’m now a lot more receptive to taking on new opportunities, whether that be academically, socially, or in some other way.

For example, like I did, maybe you’ll have the chance to join a new sport, club, or activity. Or maybe you’ll have a chance to travel in the near future. It could even be as simple as taking a chance to speak with someone new in class. Whether or not you choose to pursue a new opportunity obviously depends on a lot of personal factors, but the important thing is to not automatically dismiss the idea of something new. 

I just as easily could’ve said, “I never played tennis before, so why would a college team ever let me play?” However, if I had let this deter me, I would never have learned that the team needed athletes and that the coach was open to teaching new players. Trying new things doesn’t always work out, but I’ve learned that it’s worth it to at least try if it seems interesting. Worst case scenario, you don’t like it and you are as you were before. 

And best case scenario, you end up learning and enjoying something new.