Personal Narrative: A Career In Physical Education

The profession that I have chosen as a career is to become a physical educator. I’m looking at this career because I love physical activity. I’ve always been passionate when it comes to teaching physical activity and I’ve grown to love the feeling of accomplishment whenever I help someone improve their skill sets at certain sports. I also love coaching little kids and help them learn different type of sports that they find interesting.

Growing up, I was never one to play sports. My coordination and overall athletic skill was never where I wanted it to be. But the idea and spectacle of watching and learning about sport was always something that amazed me. To this day, sport is a driving force that connects me with both my friends and family. When it came time for me to apply for college, I was one of the few seventeen year olds that had a pretty clear idea of what I wanted to do. Sport Management was a perfect match for me because a majority of sport managers today, were not super star athletes, and some were not even athletes. I also knew that going into the sports industry with no playing experience, along with being a female, I was at a disadvantage. Immediately, I knew that I had to find ways to move myself ahead of the pack. In order to achieve that goal, my two goals were getting my degree, and getting as much work experience in the industry.

My first year of high school, I had experience with injured football players during my physical education class. We had a certified trainer who would come in and check them out. She was excellent and all of the football players and staff loved her. I was so interested in her work and later thought about making it my career goal. As time passed, I transferred schools. At my new school, there was an opportunity with two other girls to join the football team. One of my friends that I already knew before I changed schools. He introduced me to the girls and the helped me get involved. The job was to assist the athletic trainer and also help the football coach with any laundry, equipment, etc.

The first time I realized that I wanted to be an athletic trainer was during my eighth grade summer at camp. I was working on a project where I had to find careers that I was interested in. Doing this project helped me realize how many job choices there were, but only one intrigued me as much as this one. My choice to major in kinesiology was made clear during my freshman year after I job shadowed an athletic trainer at my local college and high school. High school has helped me realize who I am and what I want to become, and college will help me become that person.

From the first moment I stepped into the dimly lit gym filled with the sour sent of sweat as my curious feet hit the soft blue floor, I knew that this was where I belonged. There were gymnast frantically flipping left and right peacefully in total chaos and I couldn't wait to join them. My world began in the same place I spent countless hours a week ever since I was four, London Gymnastics Academy. I had a passion for defying gravity and taking ruthless risks alongside my teammates who shared the same insane passion as I did.

In my time at The University of Texas at Austin, I had the opportunity to grow into my own skin and beliefs. I discovered my place in the world and finally learned to love myself. I drew inspiration from wonderful people of all walks of life. Along the way, I expanded my network of colleagues/mentors. However, it is the unforeseen obstacles that took place during this time that were pivotal in my development as a young adult. I believe these particular adversities were key to molding me into the individual I am today.

Growing up, I was surrounded by the constant whirlwind of athletics. I rushed between softball games, swim meets, dance recitals, soccer games, and gymnastics performances. When I realized I couldn’t participate in all of these at once, I decided to focus on swimming, and for the next 10 years, spent 30+ hours a week in the water. As my team and I continued to grow, and train, so did our bodies. We endured pulled muscles, torn meniscuses, sprained ankles, and countless labrum tears. It wasn’t just them that suffered, but also their performance in the water.

To have a better understanding of why my skills are well suited to the job of a physical therapist, I need to explain why I want to embody this position. At the age of thirteen, I became aware of what physical therapy entailed. My first experience of insight towards this area of treatment was a personal experience that involved my father. He had been hit by a vehicle, suffered a closed-head injury, and completely shattered the bones in his left leg. Once he had become cognitively present, he was to enter several settings of physical therapy in aims to walk once again. As an observer, I witnessed what would be a very trying case for a therapist. There were occasions in which his neurological instability caused frustration that actually lead to a few violent occasions. He was eventually fortunate enough to

I joined my first team when I was one month old. Yes, one month. I guess I didn’t quite provide a huge impact on the Georgia College Baseball team but I was a great mascot. For my whole life, my home has been wherever my dad could coach. We’ve traveled to many different states, colleges, and fields so my dad could pursue his dream career. Because of this, I've learned my love for the game and the importance of a team. When I turned four, I transitioned from being a collegiate baseball bat girl to being an actual batter. When I turned 8, my parents realized I was the last girl left in the baseball league and decided that it might be time to switch to softball. Ever since, I’ve been on many different teams learning how to improve as a person

Being a coach does not involve just coaching. For many athletes, a coach is like a second father. One of the coach's responsibilities is providing physical and mental development of his athletes. In my case, my idea is being a swimming coach at a Division 1 college in the United States. I have swum since I was five years old and my career as an amateur athlete started at eleven. However, at this point of my life, I can understand both approaches that training and competition have. As a coach, it is my responsibility being a guide and a tool for my athlete; whereas, the athlete must accept the knowledge that is provided to him. I like to share my experience with my athletes. My responsibility is giving them the confidence they should own, believing

At a very young age in my life I was introduced into a sport that has made me the person I am today. Gymnastics has educated me in so many ways and helped me reach many achievements in my life that seemed unimaginable. It has taught me how to work towards my goals, never give up, and always strive to be excellent.

Growing up a student-athlete since the age of five, I quickly learned the importance and impact of goal setting, perseverance, accountability, and integrity. My sport, swimming, is a prime example of a sport where goal setting can make or break the athlete. I remember growing up with a clip board that was made of dry-erase material and it had my name and team written in bulky letters on the back. My mom and I printed out a page containing a table of my events, times, goal times, and records. I scanned this clipboard in the car on the way to the meet, before I swam, and after I swam to examine my performance. This form of goal setting helped me keep my head aligned with what I came to do that weekend and told me what I need to work on in the

The beginning of my sixth grade year is when I experienced my phase of embarrassment. To begin, my gym class was after lunch, so immediately after lunch we transferred to gym class. Mr. Dees, our teacher, announced that we were going to have a free day, in which, my face held a smile as wide as a Cheshire cat. Initially, the boys would play basketball while the girls would pretend to be cheerleaders. This particular day, the girls pretended to have cheerleading tryouts in which the boys would be the judges. One by one each girl took turns showcasing the skills which included cartwheels, toe touches, splits, and cheer chants. Everyone did exceptional on the tryout skills, except me. When it was my turn I completed everything smoothly except

Being locked under the pressure of 350 pounds of metal while several men with Boston accents shout motivational phrases at you is not a situation in which most want to find themselves. It is in this specific situation that I find the most happiness. I am of course talking about bench pressing, an exercise that sparked my love for fitness as an adolescent. I simply could not get enough of this exercise. One day I found myself going to a gym that I had never been to before but was excited to try out. I was planning to bench press that day. I warmed up with all of the equipment that I usually would have at my home gym however once it was time for me to bench press, I could not find one. This gym had everything I needed to warm up, but did not have a bench press— the one exercise I was greatly looking forward to.

Lacrosse. My sport. My passion. My game. It isn’t 10 people on a field it is 10 people who are engaged in the game. It isn’t people just wearing helmets and padding it is people who show their passion for the game. My belief is lacrosse.