Last Wednesday I attended the weekly Rose Cafe and had the opportunity to hear Silviu Tanasoiu speak. He is the Varsity Tennis coach here at Cornell and it was fascinating to hear what he had to say even though I don’t have much of an interest in sports. Coach Tanasoiu had a lot of advice to give us about taking charge of our own lives and becoming more responsible for our futures. He grew up in Romania with a family who didn’t have much but made a lot of sacrifices to help Coach Tanasoiu be successful and make a life for himself in America playing tennis. It made me reflect on the sacrifices that my own parents had made to send me to Cornell.

What I found most interesting during this talk was the Coach’s advice about time management especially. He described the hectic schedules that his tennis players currently have. Balancing schoolwork with being an athlete is an incredible feat that is oftentimes unrecognized. I can’t imagine having to do all of my homework and worry about prelims, while also having practice and tournaments for a sports team. This talk definitely made me much more appreciative of the lifestyles that athletes at Cornell lead, especially given the amount of stress that everyone was under in the midst of midterms. It also gave me the motivation to stay more on top of my own school work, and I’m really happy that I decided to attend this talk.