FIT Teens

Disappointment is something everyone faces at some point and time in life. Friends, family, mentors, celebrities, and even your own actions can lead to a disappointment. No matter what it is, it’s hard to get over and other times it’s hard forget.

On my birthday I wanted to go to beach for the weekend. Although I didn’t really want to drive there, I didn’t think there was anything to do at home. It was a short drive away and I wanted my best friend to be there lying in the sand with me.

When I mentioned my idea to her, she seemed upset. I wasn’t expecting this reaction out of her; she is usually ready for anything. I didn’t understand. She kept telling me not to go, saying things about there being more stuff to do in the city than to be lazy on the beach.

Still, it was my birthday. I should be able to do what I want to, right?

As the week went on, I stayed adamant about my mini-vacation. The weekend was only a few days away when I got that text message. That text message made me miserable. My eyes watered and my heart was broken.

The text was from my sister. She finally broke down and told me there was a surprise party for me that weekend, and my best friend planned a big part of it.

I always wanted a big surprise. Friends screaming, “Happy birthday!” from every corner, family giving the biggest hugs and a memory that would last forever; you know, what you see on TV.

But I ruined it.

I was so disappointed that I did not listen to my intuition. If I would have just listened to my gut-feeling that said, “Don’t go,” everything would have been perfect and I would have gotten something I always wanted.
I will never forget that day, the decisions I made, and how selfishly I acted.

The greatest disappointment is one that you commit on yourself. Those are the disappointments that are hard to get over and even harder to forget.

In time you will realize there is a lot to learn in the midst of your disappointments. It’s hard to see its importance now, but if you believe in your intuition first, you will thank yourself later.

Thanks to my teammates who started a food fight in the cafeteria, my boot-camp drill-instructor-like coach decided we were not going to practice one evening, we were going to run sprints for the whole two hours.

Now, if you’ve ever had a coach like mine, you know that this kind of running wasn’t made to be fun. It was the type of running that made you feel like there was no tomorrow, like there wasn’t enough air to breathe. My lungs seemed like they were on fire and that sharp pain in my side got worse after every breath. Still, my legs had to keep running as fast as they could because you couldn’t dare be late crossing the line after the stopwatch was up and the whistle was blown.

After 500 sprints I was barely making it across on time, and then those painful words, “Get on the line,” screech out for the 501st time.

It was like I was in another world and time stopped ticking. There were countless moments when I felt like I wanted to walk out of the gym and just forget about all I worked for.

I knew that practice made me stronger and more focused during game time- but really, admitting this never made practice any easier. I still hated practice, like deep down in my soul, I seriously hated it.

The only practices that I was even OK with were 6 a.m. practices, because eventually we would have to stop playing in enough time to go to class at 8. Still, having a 6 am practice meant we had two-a-days and yeah, that’s a good enough reason to hate those too.

Oh and don’t let us lose last night’s game by one or two points. My teammates and I would become sick to our stomachs during school dreading afternoon practice. The teammates were the only ones who could remotely understand the pre-practice illness.

It would take everything I had to make it through practice, but on game day it was worth it.

I was never tired and playing the game came easy since I was in shape. My mind was more focused in the fourth quarter than on my sore body. There were even times I passed up water during time outs just because there are more important things to worry about on the court.

We all know practice makes all the difference. Too bad it requires sore muscles, aching joints, tired feet, dry mouth, soaking shirts, abnormally fast stopwatches, yelling coaches, irritated teammates, and an exhausted mind to experience the impact it can make during game time.

Practice is a hate-love relationship. You hate the pain, but love the rewards it can bring. If you practice hard, you can play harder. All you have to do is keep pushing.

When you wake up in the morning you have no idea what to expect in the day. You start of thinking of all the things you need to get accomplished, what period you’re going to dread the most, or what’s on the school menu for lunch, but in reality you have no idea what is in store for you.

On the morning of my injury I was so caught up in my routine I didn’t take the time to enjoy the small things. I fumbled into the bathroom rushing to get myself together, raced to school and found myself doing the same thing as always.

I woke up that day doing something I always do; living my day like it was nothing special, just taking it for granted. That night, after my leg was in a wrapped in a splint and propped up on pillows I kept thinking, “Man, you just never know what can happen.” I tore my Achilles’ tendon clean across and just like that, the goals I set for my senior year in high school were over.

All of the could’ve, would’ve, should’ves could have been a reality if I would have seized the day, everyday like I should have.

Sometimes we need to step out of the norm and do something new. Even if it is something as simple as walking a different way to class or sitting at a different table at lunch can make a difference. Something so simple can change the rest of your day or week, even year – you just never know.

I had surgery and was stuck with crutches for three months, and later forced to wear a boot. Physical therapy sucked. Doing simple things that I never use to think about before were now difficult tasks that seemed almost impossible to do. Strength training, balancing and stretching, were painful but necessary.

You would think that I would have been depressed, and I guess in some ways I was – especially during games when I was on the bench feeling hopeless. But there is no use in crying over spilled milk, I stayed determined.
Mentally I was terrified. I remembered the pain I felt in my lower calf before my foot touched the baseline. I could still see myself falling on the court and hear the sound my tendon made when it snapped. The pain, the inability to walk, it was awful. Even walking up and down the stairs were a challenge. What if my surgery failed and I re-injured my leg all over again? I was timid about playing again because what if the other Achilles’ tears? All these what-ifs were there, but I couldn’t live in fear.

Although I know this wasn’t the best decision to make physically, I just had to do it. I couldn’t keep thinking of every step so fragilely. So, I played in our last game.

My feet weren’t as quick and my leg muscles still weren’t where they needed to be, but I had to play. My parents could barely watch the game once I walked on the floor, but I didn’t do it for them. I did it for me.

I had to seize my moment and conquer my dream by playing in my last organized basketball game. If it wasn’t for the struggles, literal pain, and the determination, I don’t believe I would have been strong enough to play one last time.

Life lessons come out of everything. Remember to seize the day, accept pain as strength and never quit on yourself. There will always be a journey so you might as well take it for a ride!

Life is complicated, especially as a teen. There is pressure to find the right friends, pressure to do well in sports, pressure to study and get homework done. It seems like a lot but it’s also important to remember that there are many upsides too.

Your next few years will really be all about learning balance. Balancing good times with stressful times, and having healthy ways to deal with the inevitable stress will take you a long way toward being fit and feeling good.

As a pediatrician, I hear about a lot of stuff that teens go through. Check this out:

Molly planned to go to a friend’s pool party on Saturday night. She knew that Nick, who she really liked, would be there. She had talked to him in history class and thought that he might like her. She got a great new swimsuit and headed over there. A bunch of kids were already in the pool. She didn’t see Nick for a while, but then saw him behind the trees… With her best friend! Molly felt totally betrayed and took off. At home, she pulled out an ice cream carton from the fridge.

Here’s another one:

Mike had been at football practice for 3 hours a day, almost every day, during the past week. He really wants to play well, and his dad, who played football in college, has been pressuring him lately. After his team won Saturday’s game, he decided to hang out with the guys. Before he knew it, he was out way past his curfew. His mom and dad were angry with him Sunday morning, and he got into an argument with them. Mike was in a foul mood and was totally exhausted. He slept all day. He forgot all about his assignment until Monday morning when he walked into English class.

Have you ever been in a bad mood and slept all day? Have you ever felt like you couldn’t trust your friends? Have you ever been overwhelmed with all the stuff you need to deal with?

Believe it or not, these kinds of situations happen to all of us. I’ve heard these stories, and I know this sounds cliché, but I’ve been there. Even though it seems awful at the time, we all learn to handle it. And learning how to balance your mood, homework, friends, school, and health will only make you stronger.

I am not an athlete. I never was. As a teen, gym class was torture for me. I was always the last to be picked for teams and never seemed to ‘get’ how to be sporty. Plus I didn’t like to get sweaty, and I certainly didn’t like to undress in front of the other girls. So when it came to gym class, I thought, “What is the point of this?”

Then one day, a really good friend asked me to come out with bunch of other girls. “To do what?” I asked. To run. She explained that it was a really fun way to get together. I thought she was crazy. I told her I wasn’t interested. But she insisted, and said I didn’t have to do it ever again if I didn’t like it. All I needed were my earphones and my favorite tunes.

Reluctantly, I decided I would do it once, just to satisfy her. So we met right after school and ran for a couple of miles. I was sweaty and tired but weirdly, I felt really elated afterwards. There was something so cool about just running with the wind, almost a sense of freedom. We cooled down with our water bottles afterwards, talked, and just hung out. It was so much fun. I really felt amazing. I realized I didn’t have to be an athlete to enjoy physical activity—or the burst of energy that you get from it. And doing it with friends was the cherry on the sundae – a healthy sundae.

Fast forward twenty years, and here I am, a pediatrician. I have a busy job and busy life. But I still run. Why? Because of the way it makes me feel—on top of the world.

I’m not going to lie– it was hard to get moving as a teen and still is today. There are so many times I’d just rather do something else. But what still gets me out of bed and into my running shoes is that natural high. The high comes from endorphins — a group of ‘feel good’ chemicals that are released when you exercise. You’ve probably run into these endorphins before; they can also be released when you do things like holding your girlfriend’s or boyfriend’s hand or eating chocolate.

Basically, exercise is a great bang for your buck—energy, a natural ‘high’, a healthy body, and sharp mind…what’s not to love about that?