Worries filled my head and my inner voice was shouting “if you go through with the surgery you

 will never play hockey again”. As I stumbled to the edge of the stairs I could hear my mom’s faint voice

calling out to me. I knew that it was time to get ready for my pre-op appointment. I hobbled down the

stairs reassuring myself that I wanted to do this. Just before I was ready to depart I remember hearing

the slamming of the door and I knew at that moment that there was no turning back. The car purred

down the road and I saw the sign that said “ Fenway next right”  that meant  it was getting time to go to

the pre-op center. As the doors slid open I tripped and fell to my knees. I reassured myself at that

moment the surgery I had once feared would change my life forever.

There is a motto that I truly live in my everyday life and that is “be the river” I never really knew

what that meant until the eleven and a half hours in the operating room. I finally understood this

when I got out of surgery and was told by my doctor “there is a long road ahead of you before

you get to play hockey again”. I figured out at that moment what that quote meant. It brings forth  the idea

that if there is a boulder in the way of the river, the river has to find a way around it.

After my surgery there was a plethora of obstacles in my way so I have to be the river.

Eleven and a half hours is a long time but when you think of it that eleven and a half hours

changed my whole life. There were many obstacles in my way but all of them were worth it in the long

run because I had learned that no obstacle was too big for me to overcome. This surgery made me a better

person as well because I learned that if you want something that bad that you have to work for it. In my

case it was to get back on the ice. So I vigorously started to train.

After endless months of training I was able to step back on the ice. All of the thoughts and doubts

that went through my mind were all suddenly gone. The feeling that I had when I glided on the

ice for the first time after my surgery was a feeling I don’t think anyone could describe. As I

glided on the ice I knew that I had been the river, overcoming all of the obstacles that had been in

my way. This feeling was extraordinary that very moment changed my life, and you wonder why.

I had proven to myself that anything is possible if you believe that you can do it. and overcome

the adversity.

       This quote has a special importance to me because I first heard it in eighth grade when my hockey

coach said “be the river”.  Ever since my surgery I have lived this through my everyday life. It just does

not have to be a struggle physically it can also be a struggle mentally to find your true self. I have tried to

instill this quote into the lives of many people through my ministry as a volunteer mentoring children to

be the best that they can be.    

       People never thought that I would be saying that I play on a girls’ varsity hockey team. But I

really feel that I became the river and overcame all the obstacles to reach my goal of playing hockey

again. I believe that whenever people have doubts about achieving a goal they should just think about

being the river. Although there might be obstacles in your way you can achieve extraordinary things.