I spend most of my days in a room with national, world and Olympic champions. You probably think I am lying, but it’s true. For two semesters, I have been working in Penn State wrestling media. What many people don’t realize is that Penn State wrestling is arguably one of the greatest dynasties in all of sports.
So no, I am not exaggerating when I say I am surrounded by some of the best wrestlers in the world.
Wrestling is not a sport for the weak. It’s a sport built as much on mental strength as on physical strength. Of course, you need athletic ability and a strong work ethic, which is undeniably what the Penn State wrestlers are doing.
If I have learned anything from my time in the wrestling room, though, it’s that their mindset is what sets them apart from every other program.
Having the opportunity to speak with Coach Cael Sanderson and the wrestlers has been one of the most meaningful experiences of my time at Penn State. Listening to them speak is like picking apart their brains. Every time I leave media, I walk out with a new lesson that leaves an imprint on my brain.
Last year, I was lucky enough to spend time learning about three-time all-American Beau Bartlett. During his freshman year, Bartlett’s overall record was 8-3, and he didn’t qualify for the national tournament.
By his senior year, Bartlett had a record of 26-2 and placed third at the national tournament, but his transformation didn’t simply come from working harder. It came from his fear of wasting his potential.
During his freshman year, Bartlett was struggling to embody the Penn State wrestling mentality, and it showed in his lackluster performance. He was ready to quit wrestling altogether until one day he was confronted by a Penn State sports psychologist. What she said was, “I am afraid you are wasting your potential.”
After that day, Bartlett never looked back.
I didn’t realize how much his story had impacted me until the other day, when I was texting with one of my friends, and found myself writing these exact words: “I am afraid I am wasting my potential.”
His response stunned me because he immediately asked where I had heard those words. Then it hit me.
I had just recited the exact phrase that Beau Bartlett says changed his life and mentality. The more I thought about it, the more I realized how often I return to that phrase. I had just never put it into those exact words before.
Growing up, I have always been a strong writer, and I loved it. Even in middle school, it was clear that my career path would take me toward writing. That was when I decided I wanted to become a journalist.
In high school, I wrote for the school newspaper, and it was the one class that never felt like a chore. It was also the one class where everything came naturally to me. Not to sound like I am bragging, but interviewing was something I had a natural ability for.
I could get people to open up to me and share their stories and experiences. What I enjoyed more than the writing itself was getting to learn about people. Once you start talking to people, you learn that everyone has a unique story to tell.
Another big part of my life has been content creation. When I was little, I would recruit all the kids in the neighborhood to be a part of my silly little videos. Eventually, that transitioned into high school.
When COVID-19 hit and boredom set in, I decided to start an Instagram account dedicated to my creative side. I began posting day-in-the-life videos, my photography and content about my life.
I still use the account today. It may not have thousands of followers, but I like to use it as my creative outlet, so if you want to follow along, shoutout to @itspstags.
However, as I look toward my future career and all the paths I could pursue in journalism, it becomes difficult to tune out the noise and my own internal thoughts. People constantly tell me that my job will be replaced by AI.
For the record, everyone’s job could technically be replaced by AI at some point. Not to mention that AI could never write anything as personal as what I am writing right now.
There are the voices in my head telling me I am not good enough or that I will never succeed in a field as competitive as journalism. It’s a dangerous spiral, because before I know it, I am rethinking my entire life, but I always go back to that fear that if I don’t follow the path I am on now, I will be wasting my potential.
Sometimes it’s difficult to overlook how much of a gift my natural talent and passion for writing is. I am incredibly fortunate to have a skill I can turn into a career. Many people are steered toward majors like business or finance because they don’t have a talent that can support them (no offense to anyone in those fields). Every day, I get to do something I truly love.
Whenever I doubt my ability to succeed, I have to remind myself how far I have come.
If you had told my high school self that I would one day be writing for one of Penn State’s top publications and sharing a room with world champions, I never would have believed you. Success takes time because progress takes time.
So no, I will never change my career path because, put simply, that would be wasting my potential. I challenge you to ask yourself this: Are you wasting your potential?