Heather BalbierArt/Arch 10Disc. 1IWhy I Do What I DoHard work, sweat, tears, frustration, exhaustion, and constant head games are just a few of the things that I deal with on a daily basis. Competing at the division 1 level, while trying to keep up with my studies at one of the best universities in the world is not exactly the easiest workload to handle.I go to practice and run more miles in one week then most people drive. I study hours each day even when I am so tired it is hard to keep my eyes open let alone my brain working. I do all of this for the challenge. Life to me would be boring if everything was just handed to me on a silver platter. A personal best time in a race would just not feel right without the grueling workouts that made me so weak and exhausted walking back to my dorm sounded absolutely unfathomable. Or receiving an ‘A’ on a paper would just not feel right if I didn’t spend hours making rough drafts and re- reading it over and over again until it sounded just “right.” The outcome? Well its not always success. I have failed more times then I have succeeded, I have been down more than I have been up, I have been frustrated more times then I have been satisfied but that just makes success taste that much better.I thrive off of competition. Not always do I get rewarded or acknowledged for my hard work but I would not want it any other way. I do it so I can go to bed at night knowing that all the studying and practices I did that day got me one step closer to being the best I can be. Yet knowing that I can wake up the next morning excited because I still have a list a mile long of things I can do in order to improve. At times that mile list seems too far and out of reach, but those are the days I push through and remind myself, “Hey, its only a mile away… that’s nothing, I will get there.” To me I strive more than anything to have character, its what you do when no one else is watching that takes you to that next level, its what defines a champion.
Comments