Ever since I was little, I loved being a part of a team and playing sports. There was something I loved about the commitment, the work ethic and the end product that made them addictive and enjoyable to me.

I started playing hockey in kindergarten. While all the other kids were participating in drills, I was barely making it across the width of the rink. I was always one step behind, but took it upon myself to close this gap.

When I started playing high school hockey, I experienced a whole new game. The stakes were high as well as the expectations. I spent most of my eighth grade year on the bench, falling behind once more.

As I developed a role on my team, hockey became an all -consuming thing in my life. I was so emotionally involved in my sport that one bad game would make me feel like a bad person. I put so much pressure on myself that I forgot why I started playing. I began to not enjoy the sport anymore.

I wanted to be recognized for the sports I played. I thought that if I was able to have success in my sports, my life would automatically become perfect. I thought athletic recognition was everything.

As I began to overwhelm myself, my parents encouraged me to notice that hockey was just a small part in my life. I realized it doesn’t determine my identity and there are more parts of the puzzle other than high school sports.

High school is a small part of our lives and high school sports are even smaller. Being involved in sports is a great opportunity to build character, create new relationships and work hard toward something but are not meant to be a main culprit of stress, which is what it turned into for me.

Sports are also not our identities. In high school, students may be known for the sports they play or their athletic ability, but there are so many other attributes that are more important.

It is important to take a step back and enjoy high school sports before they pass by and not stress about the small things.