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Women lifting barbell
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SBU | Life

Duality

Alexandra Iannarelli Student Contributor, St. Bonaventure University
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at SBU chapter and does not reflect the views of Her Campus.

Duality, the quality or condition of being dual, is something every student-athlete has to become accustomed to. What they don’t tell you about is what happens after you stop being an athlete. 

Growing up, sports have been my life. Since popping out, I have been involved in many sports teams. Throughout high school, I was on the volleyball team, a regular and competitive cheerleading team, and ran on the track and field team. 

I was considered a “three-season athlete” in high school, meaning every season, I was on some kind of sports team. I worked myself to death every year without a break because I also did weightlifting throughout the entire summer. 

I know it doesn’t sound very pleasurable, but I loved every second of it. 

Sports are stressful, of course, but when you pile on school work along with it, it can be a bit much at times. I never saw the light at the end of the tunnel; I figured I would always be some kind of athlete. Maybe not everything I once did, but at least one team to keep myself busy.

Since graduating, I haven’t been on a sports team because I thought I deserved the break after the long and grueling four years of nonstop sports in high school. I didn’t realize how much I would miss it. 

My mindset going into college was that I would possibly try out for a club team sophomore year, and I figured I shouldn’t throw myself into too much in my first year. Looking back now, I wish I did. 

I knew the life of a student athlete, being one my whole life, but I was scared that it would be too much to handle. But nonetheless, college is about pushing yourself, and joining a sports team was doing exactly that; I was just too scared.

Talking to current student athletes, their lives are intense. Lift multiple times a week, practice even more, and play games constantly. Looking back on high school, my life was somewhat similar. Even though it sounds treacherous, I miss the constant effort and work we had to put in. 

Life as a student athlete is tough; no one can disagree with that. Finding duality between their lives with their sport and their academic lives is incredibly difficult, but it is crucial. Long story short, you’ll be seeing me trying out for a club team or two this coming fall semester.

Alexandra Iannarelli

SBU '29

Alexandra Iannarelli is in her second year with Her Campus! She is a sophomore at St. Bonaventure and is majoring in public health, minoring in health science, and is in the occupational therapy masters program! Alex will be writing weekly articles about anything in her life or even silly things happening around campus.

So far she has been involved in Her Campus, of course, and SBU Power Yoga. Beyond the clubs she is in, Alex also works on campus as a math tutor and loves to help and teach people.

In high school, Alex played volleyball, ran and did hurdles for the track team, and for about 9 years was a competitive cheerleader! Although quiet at times she is pretty outgoing and loves trying new things when the opportunity arises. Traveling is her favorite and she hopes to travel the world one day! Little things about Alex include her love for collecting records! She has multiple genres of music in her collection and she hopes to continue to expand said collection. Another little hobby of hers is going to the gym and doing yoga. Alex is into yoga, pilates, and she has been going to the gym for a little over two years now. She has been known to be somewhat of a health-nut, in her dorm there are protein bars galore and many other typical healthy snacks. She can't wait to continue her years in Her Campus sharing her stories.