In all honesty, I wasn’t too excited to go to last week’s Rose café after I heard that the speaker would be the Cornell tennis coach. Sports are just not my thing; I’ve never played on a sports team before in my life, so I thought it would be hard for me to relate to Coach Tanasoiu’s talk. However, I ended up being pleasantly surprised. The coach’s talk was actually very relatable and inspiring in many ways, such as when he told the story about his dad selling his car in order to pay for his son’s plane ticket to play in a tennis tournament. This made me feel grateful for all the sacrifices my own parents have made for me to go to such an expensive school.
Although I loved Coach Tanasoiu’s talk, one thing I felt was lacking was a discussion on how important it is to take care of yourself, mentally and physically. While it is important to plan out your time in order to get all your work done, I think it’s also important to prioritize your own health over anything else. Following a strict schedule isn’t good if you’re wearing yourself out and feeling overwhelmed. Despite the stability that most student athletes have, there must be times where they are feeling depressed or exhausted, and in these cases I think it’s really important for them to take care of themselves first by taking a nap or simply taking a break and relaxing. Even if it means breaking their strict schedule! This applies to all students, not just student athletes; sometimes you just need to skip a class or get a lower grade on an assignment for the sake of your mental health. This school is full of perfectionists, and I think it’s important to spread the message that a low grade does not mean you’re stupid or a failure!