An Embarrassing Moment

As athletes, we always feel invincible. No matter what I was told, I was fully convinced that a serious injury can’t happen to me. One day, when I least expected it, it happened to me. During my last soccer game as a freshman, I moved wrong. That one step challenged me with the idea of never playing again. If I only know then what I know now, I would not have participated in that match.
I have been playing soccer ever since I can remember. It was a great passion of mine, and a method for relieving all of the stress. I can still remember the day that it happened vividly. It was our last varsity game, against one of our biggest rivals, who were also one of the best in Michigan. As we entered the field, a thunderstorm with heavy lightning was

There was this one player; he was quick on his feet and danced over the ball, constantly tricking his opponents. I was assigned to man-mark him, and I can remember replaying the words in my head “ don’t let him get around you”. I kept an eye on the ball as I went for a sharp right turn and then I felt it. I moved wrong. I heard it snap, and the pain engulfed my knee like ants cover an anthill that has been stirred with a stick. I instantly fell to the ground and screamed. The pain was excruciating, something I never felt before. I knew what it was, our trainers had described the popping sound that accompanies an ACL injury. One wrong step led to a knee surgery and nearly a year of inactivity.
I sat in the waiting room for a hour and a half. They let in the younger children, who had infections and flu like symptoms, first. As I sat there, I see some familiar faces walking through the crowded waiting room. As the faces got closer, tears started rolling down my face. They were my teammates, along with my coach. This meant a lot for me, knowing they could’ve been celebrating our victory, partying, or going out to eat. We cracked a few jokes and a lot of hugs and they made their way out. A while later, the MRI results came in. There was no denying it; I had a torn ACL and I needed