I’ve been playing volleyball for 13 of the 21 years of my life. Needless to say, the sport has taught me a lot of lessons about how to overcome adversity, how to be a team player, and how to rise up to challenges rather than shy away.
Like many sports, the mental aspect of volleyball is often more important than any physical skill I’ve acquired after thousands of hours of practice or play. I am reminded of this whenever I’m facing a tough server and have to get my setter a perfect pass so that our hitter can convert it into a kill. Considering I’ve passed quite literally hundreds of thousands of balls in my life, why is this particular moment always so nerve-inducing?
I use this example to say it’s okay to be nervous when facing a new challenge or even one that’s been set in front of you several times before. College happens to be one of the most daunting challenges there is, regardless of how many semesters you have under your belt. Every term promises news classes, new professors as well as new topics, assignments and rules. The sheer number of new things each student is expected to adjust to every few months would trip up some of the most accomplished adults.
But this time around it’s not going to trip you up, and here’s why. You’ve been here before. You’ve taken new classes, written those impossible papers, and passed tough exams. You’ve dealt with picky teachers and dragged yourself through late nights of studying. We often forget that in order to get to this point (college), we had to get through a whole lot of other stuff first (high school).
So when the jitters threaten to overwhelm you in the next couple weeks of school, whether you’re a fresh first year or a seasoned senior, remember that you’ve done this before. Perhaps at another level, in another city, with a different support system, but you did it then, which means you can definitely do it now.