Claire Fahy

Editor-in-Chief

I have spent two years writing this column about my experiences in high school sports — 3600 words and 12 columns — all highlighting the opportunities that have enhanced and defined four years of my life.

Looking to next year, it’s hard to imagine fall without cross-country meets or Christmas break without basketball tournaments. There will no longer be city championships or state qualifications to aspire to. For a naturally competitive and driven person, this new reality is difficult to imagine.

Since I’m matriculating to a Division I institution, a school with a sizeable student population that competes at the highest level of college athlet- ics, the extracurricular sports experience I have known is effectively over.

I have taken a lot of classes over the past four years, but the most unexpected lessons came on the track or on the court. My participation in these extracurriculars taught me determination and gave me a work ethic that got me to where I am, ready to graduate and continue on to college.

Sports were always an out- let in which I could work to improve myself regardless of what was happening in the classroom. Now that my sports career has reached its end, I have to redefine what it means to work hard and find new opportunities to continue experiencing the success I found through sports.

College requires a lot of self reimagining, but the absence of what has been a source of passion, pride and identity for me presents its own unique challenge that extends past just the next four years.

It is said that “change is good.” When I became a high schooler, change inspired me to break out of my comfort zone and challenge myself to try out for sports teams. While I will miss those valuable communities and experiences, I look forward to the opportu- nities I will discover in their absence.

I hope to continue my experience with sports through intramural leagues, but also relish the opportunity to in- vest my time in other areas. I’m applying to join my college newspaper and expand my community service and volunteer work. I want to take what I learned from my invaluable high school sports experience and apply those lessons to oth- er aspects of my life.