a back breaking experience

I never get a break. As a student-athlete, I can't slack off on schoolwork, or else the coach punishes me.. When joining the Bengal Belles, we sign a contract with a bunch of rules. When we break them we get these things called demerits. Some ways you could break rules are by grades, behavior, social media and talking bad about the team.

from turning against each other by keeping the drama at the door. It's a lot of work and time commitment. It's really important that when I become an officer I don't get lazy on my schoolwork because being an officer is itself a lot of work.

be wheeled into the operating room. They stuck a bunch of IVs in my arm, and I was on my way to a straight back. Three hours later, I woke up with rods and screws in my back and felt like I was hit by a truck.

I spent a few days at the hospital, nauseous, drowsy, and uncomfortable. The hardest part was physical therapy. Against my will, they made me get up and walk around the hallways multiple times a day when I just wanted to close my eyes. My whole body ached like never before, and nothing was helping. My mom and the nurses kept saying how strong I was, but those words began to lose their meaning.

After what seemed like an eternity, I was sent home with a fresh scar. I got home, and I started to become comfortable with my body again. I was in a familiar environment with a bed that was cozy and was reunited with my soft, warm dogs that I missed immensely. My family visited and made me feel like I was loved and cared for.

Once I recovered, I was excited to leave my bed for the first time in days. I was healed in no time and was ready to get back out into the world. No matter how challenging the process was, I pushed through it. I wouldn’t have changed anything. The shards of my world were picked up and pieced back together again.

Demerits are a way coaches can keep track of rules we break. If we get over a certain amount of them, we could get kicked off the team. You can also get merits that get rid of demerits.

You could get demerits for being late to practice, missing clothing, forgetting shoes and not wearing the right uniform. My parents make it very clear that if I forget something, it will be on me.

There are also rules for bad grades. Being a student that already struggles with schoolwork due to my dyslexia, I have to work twice as hard to keep up my grades if I want to become an officer in my senior year. To get there I need to make a good impression and make an impact on my coaches, but I also have to be on top of my school work, or I'll never have the chance.

Officers have so many different roles for this team. They make up some of our dances and keep the team staffer discusses the challenges of balancing responsibilities

During school, I try to get most of my homework done so that when I get home late from dance practice, I don't have to worry about it, and the next morning I can get up early for practice. It’s good to start getting into good habits.

Some tricks I use to keep track of my school work are keeping a paper calendar and putting important events on my phone, such as tests, assignments due dates, quizzes, and maybe sports events. It is hard but if I want to be a captain I have to work harder and smarter.

ainsley guzman staff reporter

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