A soccer player passionate about perfect words

I had a childhood dream of being a professional soccer player. 现在，我是一个英国人 major at a liberal arts college spending most of my time reading and writing, and some of my time playing Division III soccer.

I’m learning that fulfillment and happiness might be more valuable than soccer fame.

Here’s a little behind-the-scenes look at how I got here.  

Finding a major seemed daunting. Not only did I have to take classes to find out what I wanted to further pursue, I also had to take classes in order to get a taste for 我不喜欢什么.

Because of my soccer dreams, I came to Skidmore with only athletics-related studies 在我心中. I thought, “If I can’t be on the field, I’ll help the people who are.”

I had it all planned out. I’d take my bachelor’s in exercise science to graduate school and get a DPT, a doctorate in physical therapy. I’d rise to the top of my PT game and get recruited as a personal trainer for a club in the top flight of 英语 football (足球).

But then Skidmore’s liberal arts curriculum surprised me and I found myself exploring 新研究. As I sampled bits and pieces of several departments, I grew hungry for more. Soon, I was determined to get a taste of as many disciplines as possible so I’d never regret missing out on something.

I was so concerned with trying everything that I jammed my schedule with so many different 选项. 我感到不知所措.

How was I expected to make my way through all the departments Skidmore had to offer 选择一个最喜欢的? Will I ever know what I’m truly good at or destined to follow?

To sort through it all, I began to write.

In writing, I found I could express my opinions, sort through the problems in my mind and leave them on the paper. I could put order to the experiences in my life and begin to articulate anxieties in a productive manner.

Writing became therapeutic. It became a medium where I was free to manifest different personalities, exist in other worlds and make sense of things I didn’t understand. It also made me more confident.

It finally clicked — I wanted to write. 我主修英语.

Never in a million years did I expect I would willingly subject myself to biweekly 2,000-word research papers. Never did I think I would happily embrace a dichotomy of identities, a soccer player who loves to spend hours putting the perfect words together, a walking amalgamation of athleticism and the arts.  

但我就在这里. And so far, I think I like it.

I like the things I am assigned to read. I like the conversations we have in class. I like the challenge of writing so frequently. Now, as a senior at Skidmore, it’s crazy to think about how and why I declared my 英语 major.  

And truthfully, I don’t know what I’m going to do next. Sometimes I even question my decision, especially when I get questions like these: What are you going to do with an 英语 degree? Write a children’s book? 当一名教师?

My answer: I don’t know. I’ll have to wait and see.

As an 英语 major, I’ve learned how to critically analyze texts and what the word 重写本意味着. But perhaps more importantly, I’ve learned that when I let my writing speak for itself, it will reveal all that I need.