Going Against Cultural Norms

Every young, naïve, wide-eyed freshman lass assumes they will graduate college with a ring on their finger and a 10 year plan. Why else would women go to college? To actually get an education?…blasphemy!

I am 23. By this generation’s standards, I should already be married (or at least engaged). The average age of women in Kentucky for their first marriage is 22.8 years old. As a super senior this year, I have multiple friends who are already married and even more who are engaged. Yet, I am nowhere near this landmark. Not that I’m complaining. In fact, I am here to sanction the opposite.

My grandmother always asks me why I am not dating anyone. The other grandmother subtly hints that she hopes she is still alive when I get married. Personally, I can’t wait to get hitched. I know very few women who are not excited about starting a family*. I have dreams of curly-haired, blue-eyed kids running around the back yard while my ruggedly handsome husband** grills out, winking at me as I pass by. While all this sounds perfect, I am not ready to go there yet. I still have the world to conquer. I’m young, energetic, and adventurous. I don’t know what the future holds for me, whether it’s 4 more years of education in medical school or maybe trying to play professionally in Europe***, but I do know that I am perfectly content being single at this stage of my life.

I will be the first to admit that I am stubborn, selfish, and immature at times. I still need to figure out myself before I can share it with anyone else. Luckily, marriage isn’t even an option for me right now. But on the upside, I will be attending my first date party tonight (whoop!), although I am slightly worried that my ice-skating skills may be a little rusty.

While I will not be graduating in May with a diamond ring, I will be graduating with an Aggie ring on my finger...and I wouldn’t trade that for the world.


*with the exceptions of Paige and Allison
**preferably 6’2”, athletic, intelligent, funny, & an Aggie
***I am probably not good enough, but it sounds fun, eh?

Things I will miss most about being a Student-Athlete

1. free food - all the time. calamari, steak, lobster, chocolate thunder from down under, and all the Dr. Peppers a girl could ever ask for. $35 ticket...no problem. the coaches will take care of it.
2. being "that hot aggie soccer babe" in all my classes - no longer can i get away with wearing sweats, no make-up, and hair in a pony tail to class every day. and all those times i went to class dirty and sweaty because of 6am workouts, people ignored the stench coming from my direction because they thought it was awesome that they personally knew a soccer player. no more high fives on monday mornings from students excited about the victories from the prior weekend, no more being on the cover the 12th man magazine or the Battalion, no more awkward videos about me being played on the big screen at football games.
3. being in shape - not because i am disciplined and go workout every day, but due to the nature of my sport. i couldn't get out of shape if i wanted to. i was running 3 hours a day and lifting weights 4 days a week. i was a machine. it has now been 9 days since we lost to t.u., and therefore 9 days since i've broken a sweat. today as i was riding my bike to class like always, i found myself huffing and puffing, as if i was an overweight tuba player running to get first in line at the cafeteria. that is just sad....and pathetic.
4. eating whatever i want - since the age of 5 i have never had to watch what i eat. i was doing gymnastics 3 hours a day then going straight to soccer or basketball practice for another 2 hours. i would eat a Big Mac in between practices then go home and eat hamburger helper and ice cream galore, and still look like a starving child in Africa. then in college i was doing 2-a-days the majority of the time - running and lifting more than any human should have to. on the way home from practice i would stop by McDonalds and grab 2 cheeseburgers, fries, and a coke, then i would still eat double everyone else at dinner 3 hours later. the days of being able to eat til my heart's (and stomach's) satisfaction are over. do i really have to start watching my caloric intake???
5. free gear - first i got free UK gear (although not much because my coach didn't think we deserved to keep it since we lost so much); then i got to partake of both free Nike and Adidas A&M gear. my closet looks like Aggieland Outfitters threw up everywhere....maroon is covering every inch of both my closet and chest of drawers. so long to being pimped out in the latest, coolest adidas gear that no one else on campus has yet. aggie soccer was great for my wardrobe, but now i have to start wearing normal people clothes.
6. massages - 30 minutes of pure bliss and relaxation every wednesday morning. this should probably be moved higher up on the list.
7. traveling - going across the country for soccer and getting to see the big name college campuses. i got to play at every single SEC and Big XII school during college. i also went to UNC, Penn State, Michigan, Michigan St, UCLA, Arizona, Arizona State, Ohio State, and Duke. i've been inside Allen Fieldhouse, Rupp Arena, Cameron Indoor, Dean Smith Center....i've seen Neyland Stadium, Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, Tiger Stadium, Memorial Stadium, Gaylord Stadium, and Beaver Stadium....all of which are college athletics at its finest...yet, none compare to Kyle Field.
8. having an instant cop-out to reject date offers - sounds bad, but so many times i got out of going on a date by having practice that evening, or because i wasn't allowed to go to the bars 48 hours before a game, or obviously the easiest of all, because i am out of town this weekend. looks like i'll have to start coming up with some new material.