The habitual internal clock is becoming more apparent as the game wears on. It is unusually hot for early October in Tulsa, Oklahoma and my whole body feels heavy due to exhaustion and possibly mild dehydration. I am trying to captain my team to a spot in the semifinals in one of the biggest youth soccer tournaments in the state and the clock continues to tick. An opposing player is sprinting full pace down the field with the ball glued to his feet, and I decide that a sliding challenge is my best chance of repossessing the ball. That’s all I remember though, the rest of the game and even that day are became a simple blur. As my body went in for the tackle the opposing player’s knee had followed through and struck the area right behind my ear …show more content…
During this time period I saw multiple neurologists, orthopedists, and concussion specialists all around the state and country. These physicians were not mentors to me, but the things they discussed while going through the diagnosing process thoroughly intrigued me. I honestly had no idea what it meant to be a doctor minus the various checkups and shots required for school. From the first concussion on though, I began to expand my knowledge surrounding the field of medicine. By the end of my freshman year of high school I knew this was now something I wanted to pursue and took every academic and shadowing opportunity I could to ensure this. Upon graduating high school, I enrolled at the University of Oklahoma with a clear-cut idea of what I wanted to pursue. I declared a major in biology and began my academic career. During this time I was able to continue shadowing, but experienced a slight set back. Like many individuals, it took me some time to adapt to the college lifestyle and my GPA suffered from that. Upon maturation though I was able to get back onto the right path and develop the necessary habits to achieve things like the Dean’s and President’s Honor Rolls for multiple semesters and was able to declare a minor in