For millions, perhaps even billions, of people, sports are a hobby. It’s a form of entertainment. An escape from their nine-to-five job. A pastime that enthralls children and adults alike in a magical way.
While all those things are also true for me, sports have also become something that is much deeper.
Sports are my compass.
A compass is a device that points you in the right direction, helps you when you get lost, always guides you back to a cardinal point of familiarity.
But let’s be real, when was the last time you used a compass? I wouldn’t be surprised if you’ve never used a compass before in your life. Yeah, we have technology like GPS now that is more useful than a compass, but regardless, the average person isn’t putting themselves in unfamiliar territory where a compass would be necessary anyways.
Well, to a certain extent, that very situation ended up happening to me in regards to my relationship with sports. I ended up in unfamiliar territory, but luckily I had my compass.
You see, I always loved sports, and growing up I always heard that you should pursue what you love as a career. However, as a naive youngster I interpreted that as, “the only
way to pursue sports as a living is to be an athlete.” So when I reached high school and realized I was never going to be taller than six feet and was nowhere close to being good enough to make it anywhere near my dream of playing in the NBA, my identity crisis of what I was going to do next began.
I was a good student, but had no sense of what I wanted to do in life or even what specifically I was good at. I ended up at the University of Washington with somewhat passionless hopes of getting a degree in psychology and doing who knows with that. But then, my very first class at UW was an introductory neuroscience course that confused the heck out of me, so I knew that further pursuing psychology was likely going to be a fruitless endeavor.
So I switched my major to political science. And then to business. And then to communication. And then I realized communication wasn’t for me either.
Next thing I knew, I was going into my junior year with no declared major, no authentic desires for my future and quite frankly, not many new friends either. By January, I was lost. I started to experience intense anxiety. I was having a full-on existential crisis where I felt like I was just on autopilot with no control of my life or purpose.
Luckily, I had people around me that I could turn to for support, and they helped me get the resources I needed. During this time, I would watch ESPN’s flagship shows, listen to my favorite basketball podcast and tune into sports games every single day as a
distraction to what I was going through. After spending more time consuming sports content than I did going to class, I finally had my “aha moment” of realizing what my next step was.
I decided I wanted to be a part of the sports media world. After all, that is where my greatest passion and expertise is. It’s the only thing in my life that I’ve always had unbridled enthusiasm for, and I couldn’t believe I hadn’t thought to pursue it earlier.
I ultimately graduated from the University of Washington with a degree in philosophy (yeah I know, not the most useful degree), and applied and was accepted into Arizona State University’s Cronkite School of Journalism as a sports journalism master’s student.
As confident as I was in my writing ability and knowledge of sports, I still remember feeling “impostor’s syndrome” after finding out many of my peers already gained journalism experience in their undergrad years. However, every step of the way so far I’ve gotten positive reinforcement from my professors and peers, which has validated my decision to pursue this path.
I hope you, the reader, will join me on this path and engage in my work every step of the way. I know that viewing my progress will be captivating and worthwhile, and that the perspective I can bring to this industry will be unique and powerful.
If you told me two years ago in that January where my anxiety began that I would be here, feeling so great about myself, I honestly wouldn’t believe you. But that’s what happens when you have a compass and you use it. And if that compass got me from there to here, then imagine where that compass will get me from here on out.
