This week’s campus celeb is not just an athlete, or a yogi, or a student; Tommy Kader is an inspiration. We asked him to tell us about all he does and he said it better than we ever could. His involvement on campus and his philosophy on sports is truly interesting. Here are some of the questions we asked him and following is his response. Read on for more! Can you tell us a little bit about how you’re involved on campus?
What about the club you created? What about the club you created? Your philosophy on sports? Can you talk a little about yoga and how you got involved, what it means to you, and how you stay zen at Colby?
I like to stay active on campus. Since Colby is a small community, I think it is important to develop connections in all areas here. When I entered as a freshman in 2010, I was naïve and did not understand the impact that a Colby education could have on my personal beliefs and perspective on life.
As a first year, Ice Hockey was most important because I grew up playing it, and like anyone else, I dreamed of playing in college and at the professional level. Somewhere in my sports journey, I began to identify myself as an athlete and nothing else. When you think about it, many people (not just athletes) describe who we are in terms of what has happened to us throughout our life. For example, “I went through a lot to be where I am, and am proud of the adversity that I’ve faced to make it this far in my career.”
People are funny-we always think that our situation is unique because the competition is every person besides you. Thus, it’s ME against the world and no one can take it from ME because I want it more than the next person. And, maybe you do-but maybe (just maybe) there are thousands of other athletes who share the same dreams as you.
How bad you want to succeed and what you do to accomplish your goals is a different story. Saying you want something is one thing-doing it is another. Dedication is sticking to your goals long after the mood you said it in.
So, we compete against others, fight to be the best, and then feel great when we win and mad when we lose. It’s great to be competitive, but I soon found out that in many ways, this up-and-down mindset was detrimental to my peace of mind during life at Colby.
As a freshman, I continually heard rumors about the hockey team and was asked questions regarding my thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. Lets be serious-the hockey team does not have the best reputation on campus. However, most of the information stems from false rumors, and I am highly disappointed that many students on campus negatively perceive the team. I understand that many students here focus on eliminating stereotypes and prejudice. We have student groups that focus on LGBT and race, yet no group seems to promote overall health and well being on campus. That’s one reason why I started Aware Athletics.
Another reason is that it is difficult to find a balance between academics, athletics, and social life. Often, we feel stressed and anxious because our thoughts are always wandering to the past or future. For example, if I was with my friends, it was easy to let my mind drift to practice later that day. My head coach, Jim Tortorella, was not the easiest going guy in the world. I would wake up, go to class for three hours, and then have to perform highly for Coach T. I feel like the lifestyle at Colby eventually directed me towards my inward spiritual journey to yoga and meditation. Yoga means union, of the mind and body, to something greater than me. I believe that all people share the same aspirations in different contexts. Therefore, I stay Zen by always seeing myself in other people. Nature keeps me at peace too, and I try to release myself from separation from the outside world and my inner virtual reality. I think this separation is the key to all creativity because it allows me to shy away from the Western mode of thinking that can only understand and believe so much from logic. As my roommate Khaled laughs and says, “No one understands me. What is life?”
I believe that life is great and the more separation there is between individuality and the outside world, the more problems arise. It sounds preachy, but it’s true-when you look for the good in people; you realize that everyone is just like you. It all starts inside though-if you can’t respect the individual in the mirror, you’ll have a hard time liking other people.
Thanks Tommy!