Learning A Lot About Myself

Even though I'm not technically going to school--aside from an online sociology course--I'm learning some valuable lessons throughout this process that I will be able to draw from for the rest of my life. I'm going through a unique experience, one that I will never forget. Hopefully, writing about it will help me remember even more than I would normally. I understand that playing junior hockey can be a trap for some kids. Some kids will take advantage of their time away from school and just shut down their brains, becoming lazy and unmotivated to do anything but play hockey and come home to the couch to play video games before the next practice. My parents and I were wary of this fact when I was deciding whether or not I would go down the road I'm on now; I was pretty much 100% convinced that I didn't want to play junior hockey when I was going into my senior year of high school. It's amazing how some things change and how quickly they change.

But I'm not "most kids." I'm trying to learn as much as I can from everything I do, see, and hear while I'm here, playing junior hockey, like I never thought I would. That's just the way I am. When I decide to do something that I know will influence the rest of my life, I decide to do it wholeheartedly. I don't think there's any other way to make those life-changing decisions, or else you're selling yourself short. I truly believe that in the past 8 months I've been putting everything I have into following my dream, and I've also been trying to take away all the valuable lessons I can from interacting with different people, seeing how other people approach the same daily grind I'm going through, and by pushing myself to the edge of my comfort zone, in the weight room and on the ice.

I'm different than most kids. I'm extremely self-driven, and I often think about unimportant things way too much, putting a little too much pressure on myself to be perfect. Looking back, my first few weeks of exposure to junior hockey were not very fun. I've gone through a little bit of a culture shock since arriving in Bismarck. But I'm turning into a hockey player. And I'm learning a lot even though--gasp!--I'm not going to school!?! I'm so happy that I decided to give my dream a chance. I know I will reach my goals if I stay true to myself and keep working hard like I have been so far. Because that's just the way I am. When I put my mind to something, I make it happen.