You GET to do this

Hi everyone! My name is Charlotte Goersch and I play for the GVSU women’s golf team. I am from Berlin, Germany and my major is Applied mathematics with a minor in statistics. I want to share my journey in learning to appreciate the struggles every athlete faces. 

It’s 2am and we have just arrived back at the Meadows from a tournament after a long road trip back. The van ride was quiet. Everyone was sleeping with their headphones in, heads leaned against the windows. Meanwhile I’m staring at my laptop trying to force myself to do the assignment I promised myself I would finish, as it is due in a couple of hours. I didn’t perform well and I’m scared that I let my teammates, coaches, and family down. I sit there exhausted, questioning why I put myself through this again and again. 

In those moments it is easy to go down a rabbit hole, convincing yourself that all of this is not worth it, and you are not enough. Even though you only ever see the positive side of college athletics, I know that not a single athlete is alone with having faced these feelings at some point. Some feel them more than others, and yet others have managed to flip the switch. I was sitting in a meeting with Dr. Arnold and my team when he said “You GET to do this, you don’t got to do this”. This changed my perspective on everything.

At first I didn’t think much of it. After all, hearing that you have to be grateful can be hard if all you have in your head is your next tournament and the next five assignments you have to finish. All this while being over 4200 miles away from home, balancing school and athletics, and sacrificing social life that other college students get to experience. However, over time I realized more and more what he meant by saying this. 

Now whenever I face this feeling I remember what a privilege it is to be able to live the dream I’ve had in my head ever since I started playing golf in the summer of 2016 when I was 9 years old. There are so many people out there that would love to trade places with me. Every early morning lift this year, every hour long practice, every tournament round in 40 degrees and rain, every late night homework session. It has all led me to being able to stand on the first tee box of PGA National in Florida hearing my name being announced and being able to represent Grand Valley at the National Championship this year at such a cool place. Moments like these make the hard parts worth it. I get to have amazing times with my friends, visit new places every year and make experiences that will last a lifetime. 

The hard times will never not be there and there will be times where I arrive back at home at 2am, stress about an assignment or hear my alarm going off at 5:30am. But now when this happens I try to remember all the good experiences. Instead of questioning myself “Why do I have to do this?” I remind myself of something bigger: I get to do this. One day, when golf is over for me, I will look back at all of these memories and miss them.

So whenever you are feeling down and overwhelmed, remember that you are not alone and that you can only cherish good moments if you have experienced the bad ones. It’s not easy to bean athlete but what you are experiencing is what other people can only dream of. You GET to do this!

-Charlotte

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