High School Sports to Relieve the Everyday Stresses of School by Brittany Brannigan

-
Coming into freshman year, I had no idea what to expect. In the previous three years, I had been going to school at Pope John High School right across town in Sparta. It wasn't my favorite overall, and in eighth grade, I made the decision to come back to Sparta Public Schools. Although I know I made the right choice, the nerves were definitely building up. I was going to have to find my way through a new school with all new people. This also meant I had to make new friends. Luckily, my friends that I had had before I left for Pope John, accepted me back into their group and made me feel like I had never left. I'll always be thankful for them.
The best thing I could've done was join the soccer team at Sparta High School. With all of the running and hard work, it also came with new friends. The only people I knew were my old friends from before I left Sparta. It was a blessing to meet all of the upperclassman and sophomores that I now consider my sisters. Not only did soccer give me the chance to meet different people, but it also gave me something to look forward to during the school day. After going through the same routine every day, school can get very monotonous. Some days feel like they just go on for an eternity. Having soccer everyday after school is what got me through last year. The same goes for lacrosse. With soccer in the Fall season and lacrosse in the Spring season, I feel like I'm always busy playing a sport. Not to mention, these sports give you a tremendous amount of exercise and physical activity.
One issue I deal with is having anxiety. Sometimes it comes from an overload of homework and poor time management, which causes me to stress an insane amount. Other times, it can come from something as simple sitting in class and all of a sudden feeling anxious. High School sports has tremendously helped me with this. According to adaa.org, scientists have found that regular participation in aerobic exercise has been shown to decrease overall levels of tension, elevate and stabilize mood, improve sleep, and improve self-esteem.
I believe that every student should do at least one after school activity to get some sort of exercise in after the long six hour school day, especially if you deal with the same anxiety problem that I do. Not only that, but it gives you something to look forward to at the end of the day.
I cannot even begin to explain how much high school sports has helped me socially, mentally, and physically.
Sparta High School Girls Soccer

Comments

  1. DanielleSeptember 20, 2019 at 8:24 AM

    I'm so glad that sports helped you adjust and I agree that it's good to have an activity planned!

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousSeptember 22, 2019 at 6:52 PM

    I agree, sports can be great for meeting people and making the school day more interesting.

    ReplyDelete
  3. AnonymousSeptember 25, 2019 at 4:40 AM

    I agree, the after school sports provide a much needed source of excitement, after a long day at school, especially if you had a bad day at school. I also think it is great for meeting new people and having people that you know now who you can trust to talk to or to ask help of. Overall, I think my after school sports in freshman year played a big role in aiding me through that school year.

    ReplyDelete
  4. AnonymousSeptember 26, 2019 at 12:34 PM

    I agree, the sports that i've played throughout highschool have made me so much less stressed! I also think that they give you new friendships and help create bonds with new people!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Ancient Greek Heroes VS. Modern Day Heroes

-
Image
Heroes in Greek/Anglo-Saxon (I am grouping the types of historical literature we have read) writing are very obvious and much of ancient Greek literature involves a central hero or a supernatural story. In modern day English, however, the plots are less often mythical and more realistic. Since each person has a different definition for heroism, modern day heroism literature can be more varied. Ancient Greek writing is very often far-fetched, however. There are many similarities and differences between the two types of writing, but first I will run through the most significant differences. In Greek mythology, heroes were often religious figures, like demigods, while modern day writing focuses more on ordinary people. This could be because authors nowadays want the readers to be able to relate with the heroes in their stories. Greek writing had heroes that had the power to protect or destroy the people depending on prevailing circumstances. In contrast, modern day heroes are acknowledg...
Read more

My Brother by Elizabeth Hailey DeGasperis

-
Image
          When I contemplate what is most important in my life, my mind is drawn to my 21-year-old brother, Tom. There are not enough words in the English language I could use to describe what he means to me. I cannot imagine the past fifteen years of my life without him. Allow me to start from the beginning.           Even when I was an infant, he never failed to take me out of my crib, strap me in my high chair, and cook scrambled eggs for us (at the tender age of six). He did this so my mother could catch up on sleep in the mornings and take care of me however he could. I only wish I could return the favour in some way. Though we have always been tight, we used to fight frequently as all siblings do. As immature children, we viewed every ordeal as monumental. The apocalypse would occur if either of us decided to give the other access to the TV remote or the pogo sticks for five minutes. However, we would always make-up in the end and...
Read more

Not Fate, Just a Coincidence - Sila Paniker

-
Image
The idea of fate confuses me. I don't really understand how something will happen no matter what you do. It just seems very unlikely. I think we're constantly making choices that lead to occurrences. We make so many decisions a day that it seems impossible that fate can find a way around it all.  Awhile ago, I saw something called the Butterfly Effect, which doesn't exactly relate to fate but it makes sense to me. The idea is that a butterfly flapping its wings can cause a tornado on the other side of the world. Essentially, small changes can have large impacts. In my head, this connects with the thousands of tiny decisions we subconsciously make each day. There are people I've met or things that have happened and it feels like it was meant to be but they're just a bunch of coincidences that had the ability to change everything. Thinking about it, there are reasons that can explain everything. For example, I met one of my closest friends a few years ago a...
Read more