by Grace Pappadellis ’29 on November 6, 2025
Opinion
I anticipated the feeling of being freed from the sport of basketball to be an instant calm, an awaited relief, even a liberation. Not because I didn’t love the sport, or because it didn’t provide me with consistent friends, memories, and numerous skills—but because of the intense commitment to one thing, for so long, to a game that determined so much about my athleticism and self-worth. Commitment meant something totally different to me then than it does now.
I reject my old mindset: The mindset of waiting for something to be over, feeling the suffocation of commitment, and complacently believing that I was a positive, overall happy person. How can you radiate positivity if you make things negative for yourself? Sure, there were parts of being a high school basketball player that stressed me out, and it didn’t always raise my confidence, but I was too naive to understand how to take the good with the bad. I didn’t necessarily realize what I was learning about myself and about others: how to be a team player, how to balance different lifestyles, and, most of all, how to develop my basketball skills.
I’ve taken these skills with me and incorporated them into my life as best as I can. Well, except for my basketball skills. It has been a long time since I’ve played, and it is safe to say that I miss it, but I am trying to find a way to fit it into everything else now. Not everything in one’s life can fit at once, no matter how hard you try.
It is a great challenge to be everything you want to be in your lifetime, never mind over a span of a couple of years. You can’t always enjoy something in the moment and appreciate it for what it is. It’s impossible to live in the present with retrospective knowledge. If it were possible, we’d be superheroes, or nearly perfect humans. Now, when I look into my rearview mirror, I’m able to watch myself in a new light, with new gained knowledge—especially about the importance of commitment. I loved basketball, and I still do. I also love running, reading, writing, my friends, and my family. I love music, exploring new places, baking different desserts, and going on hikes. I commit myself to these things because I love them, not because I let them dictate my worth.
Sure, not everything is black and white. Things we love can misconstrue themselves and turn into obsessions, things we hate, or become lifeless and dull in our eyes. However, that should never deter you from indulging in what you enjoy at the time, committing to it, and letting your enthusiasm run free. It is inspiring to see others simply do what they love without hesitation.
I miss basketball, my high school team, and the hometown friends I made along the turbulent course of being a young athlete. It wasn’t easy to dedicate so much time to sports when I wasn’t even sure who I was as a person yet. Nevertheless, looking back, I’m so glad that I spent so much time doing something I loved, regardless of any negative experiences I endured. Commitment to me, now, is an accomplishment that is admirable and never a waste.