School has finally ended, at least for me it has. Exams have been written, marks have been released. For me, that marks the end of an era!! I’ve spent 5-6 years fighting through an engineering degree, and recently I just finished 4 years of a kinesiology degree which has given me my first degree (no I didn’t finish my engineering). What’s even more exciting is that with the marks that were released, I can officially say I’ve been accepted into Graduate Studies for Health Science. I’m so excited as this brings me one step closer to my dream job, which is to teach at the University level while being able to research the effects of physical activity on chronic diseases like Crohn’s disease and Ulcerative Colitis. I’m beyond excited to get started and hopefully, one day bring you guys my own exciting research findings!!
Yet, there’s an even bigger accomplishment to this than simply getting my degree and being accepted into Graduate Studies. That accomplishment is the fact that I did all this while battling my disease, proving to at least myself that it is possible to achieve something despite disease. Now, I will admit, my first year was relatively disease free, however, for the last three years I had to fight continuously just to get to school. On my way to getting my Kinesiology Degree, I had to do very active labs like the WindGate Test (basically an all-out sprint test for 30 seconds to determine VO2max). Don’t worry if you are unsure of what VO2 is, it’s not really important for now. But things like this test, and labs of maximal strength testing, writing 3 hour exams, 3 hour lectures, etc.; these things weren’t easy with the need of having to use the bathroom always looming over you. In my mind though, I decided to bite down and fight my way through. I had already dropped out of one Undergraduate program, I was not about to drop out of another, although the thought did cross my mind when my disease was at its all-time low. I couldn’t do it though, I wasn’t about to accept the fact that I would need to drop-out.
I think that is one thing that is very important to recognize. Once you get an idea in your head, once you have decided that this is the thing you want to do, you have the power to do whatever it takes to accomplish it! I was so determined that I would leave an hour early in order to make stops along the way to the bus to use the bathroom. I would do guided meditation and breathing techniques on the bus to fight back against the stomach pain just to get to school. Once there, I would try my best to focus on the lectures and ignore the pain or bathroom urge. It sounds annoying, and it was annoying, but it was do-able. I am an example of that. Disease or not, I was able to get my degree, and I would argue that this is attainable by anyone, regardless of your disease or barrier. There is always a way to achieve your goal.
Okay, so there it is. My first accomplishment! And now on to the next. With the end of school means the beginning of the soccer season. This is also really exciting. I can’t wait to start the season. I’ve already been out twice to train for this upcoming season, and have a couple more training sessions planned! I’m going back to the team I played for last year. That means more game updates as the season goes on and this year, hopefully I will be able to get some actual game footage for you guys to watch! Fingers crossed. We will see though.
One thing I should mention which I think I haven’t mentioned before. I should let you guys know that I’m not in a full remission with my disease. I still experience symptoms, especially if I stop exercising, if I stop taking my meds, or if I’m under a ton of stress. This means that even on game nights, I will have to fight my way to the game some nights, stopping on the way to the field to use a bathroom. No big deal though! In my head, playing soccer, getting exercise, and fighting passed the barriers of my disease is worth it! Soccer gives me a reason to fight passed my lingering symptoms. It allows me to focus my energy into something. It keeps me healthy, it keeps me goal-driven (pardon the pun), and has given me many new friends. I look forward to every season I play, and this season is no different!