Meet the eighth Warrior in our series!
My name is Madison Horahan and I am a senior here at ESU. I am on the ESU track and field team.
I have been doing sports since I could walk. It started with soccer, then I added basketball all through elementary school and middle school until I also added track into the mix. Since before I could remember I had be an athlete. An athlete that left school and went straight to practice and then would leave that practice to go to another one and then on some days even another one. It did not feel like an issue at the time. I kept my grades up, I kept my family one of my top priorities and I still had a social life.
Then sophomore year of high school came, I got a concussion playing soccer and that was it, the doctor told me no more because the next one your done with sports. I stopped playing soccer and just stuck to basketball and track. I joined another team for basketball, no biggie! Then junior year came, I remember the day vividly.
At Point Pleasant High School, I was going down the court for a layup I jumped up and the next thing I knew my face hit the floor and the loudest crack ever filled the gym, my ankle was no longer straight. I had to take a season off of track to do physical therapy, but I would still do footwork waddling around in my boot. My coach called it dedication and used me as an example of a good athlete for the rest of the team.
To everyone it seemed like I was just a girl who loved doing sports, but that summer when I got out of my boot and realized just how far behind I was, it was the first time I realized that I wasn't determining my worth as a human off of being a decent human being it was off of how good of an athlete i could be and that was it
It never really crossed my mind again until this semester, I herniated my disc and was redshirted from my junior spring season of track. Not being able to finish out my winter season was hard. I couldn't lift, couldn't walk more than around the house and hall, and worst of all I couldn't throw.
A couple weeks ago I sat in my friends room and talked about how bad it was, how much that little medal ball made me feel like I had worth. It wasn't until then that I realized I was falling into the same trap again. For as long as I could remember I have let a sport determine who I am as a person, and that's not fair.
You are worthy of so much this life has to offer, with your sport or without it. I hope putting this out there helps anyone else who might be struggling with the same thing I've been for so long just remember:
- You're never alone!
- Human>Athlete
- You are worth so much more than your give yourself!
Past Stories
