"FIND A WAY" by Silvana Lopez

Silvana Lopez

High School: Veterans Memorial High School

District: Brownsville ISD

Grade Level: 12

Age: 18

Class: 2024

Academic Achievements and Awards: Stamp and Space Program, 3rd Place in Science Fair, Certified Personal Trainer

Athletic Achievements and Awards:Team Cross Country Regional Qualifier

I was born on September 16, 2005, in Brownsville, Texas. As a little girl I loved to dance, go to the beach, and play with my dog. I was so fortunate to have a loving family and stable life. I had my parents, health, and a roof over my head. My first taste of sports was gymnastics, and I absolutely loved the thrill and competitiveness. Sadly, that didn't work out because my grandparents got in a car accident. My parents had a busy schedule so they didn't have time to take me to gymnastic classes, so my grandparents were the only reason I could go at that time. Then in middle school, I started to get involved in more sports because I knew that I loved being active and competitive, so I fell in love with running my 7th grade year. My 8th grade year got cut short because of covid. The only thing that kept me going while I was stuck at home was working out and researching about training and nutrition. The year we came back from covid, I had to step into a completely different environment in high school, and I wasn't sure what I wanted to do. I was so lucky to bump into a coach that talked to me and just randomly told me that he believed I had the potential to be good in his cross country and track team. After that day, my life changed forever because I finally found a sport where I could settle in and work hard for.

My role model is without a doubt would be my grandpa. He has shown me that anything in life is possible with God by your side, dedication, initiative, and hard work. I look up to him because my grandpa had to work from the very bottom to build his way up so that my mom could have a better life than he did. He came from a family that had nothing and had to work hard to at least be able to bring food to the table. Even though his dad wanted him to stay to continue working on the farm, my grandpa knew he had more to give to the world. So, he worked hard to become an incredible engineer. I look up to him because he showed me the importance of working for the things you love the most. My grandpa was also a runner when he was younger, but he had to run barefoot, but not even that stopped him from competing to the best of his ability. Every day I step foot on that track I think of my grandpa, and that if he could do it without shoes or proper fueling then I had no excuses to give it my all.

If there’s one thing, I still struggle with it’s definitely doubting myself. I’ve hit many rock bottoms where I’ve felt like I would never be good enough, and all my hard work never paid off. There’s been days where I just get so frustrated with myself because I’m not running the way I wish I could run. The thing that I have learned not to forget is to look back to see how far I have come, and I have had coaches that have helped me realize that. My coach has told me that I barely started running sophomore year because of covid, and that I had to notice that I have reduced my times by a lot with very little experience. This coach has told me that I need to be proud of myself because I really have come a long way in just three years.

My junior year, I started training for cross country during the summer and then in

August I started noticing a pain in the left side of my hip. At first, I thought it was nothing and that I could just suck it up and deal with it. The pain continued to get worse and it extended to my knee as well. Eventually, I told my mom, and she took me to doctors and therapist. They told me that I was wearing out my hip because I was overtraining. They said that I need to give myself rest days instead of training every day, if not I would need a new hip by the time I was 25. This injury took all season to heal and recover because I had to give my body a break, and I also had to strengthen it. This really broke me down because I finally had a chance to be in a sport and my dedication to train a lot was the reason why I had to sit out for a season. In the end, I think athletes get stronger mentally and physically after injuries because you know that you need to get stronger to avoid getting injured again and you also have so much ambition in your mind to get better after missing a whole season. When I came back to run it made me more optimistic and grateful that I was able to be back and running, and I had more motivation to become a better athlete.

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My mind has actually never thought of quitting, and if it ever did, I knew that I would never quit even if I wanted to. My parents raised me to never quit anything that I have my mind set on, because that's never going to get me anywhere in life. They have taught me that I can’t just throw everything away in the middle of a storm just because it was too difficult. I overcame these thoughts because I knew that I would let myself down if I ever quit because I knew that I was bigger than that and quitting is not something that I do. If I had the chance to talk to someone who wants to quit, I would tell them that they can’t take the easy way out because that’s not how life works. I would tell them that they must find a way to continue pushing through because good things come to those who never quit. If people would stop quitting, then we would have less people wondering why they can’t reach their goals.

I would probably tell younger athletes that I understand that this sport is mentally draining and physically exhausting, but they have to learn to love the pain. Being a track and cross-country athlete is not easy at all, and it takes a lot of hard work because they need to sleep, hydrate, recover, fuel properly, and most importantly train consistently. I would also tell them to never let the people around them influence how hard they work, or that they should skip a practice because “one or two times won’t hurt.” At the end of the day, it really will hurt them because they're not only letting the coach down, but they are also choosing the easy way and that is never good in sports and in life. Another thing is the people that call them a “try hard” because they train more on their own, or they listen when a coach wants them to do something. I would tell them that those people are setting them up for failure, and they have the power to let them or continue going the extra mile for better results.

I think the biggest advice I have gotten is from a Coach Beatriz Escobedo. She said that I have to “take pride in what I do”. A lot of the time I try to minimize my hard work or my results, and this coach has taught me to be proud of the sport that I do. Although she has taught us to be prideful, she has taught me how we also have to be humble. This coach would tell us that if we are not proud of the work that we put in then maybe we aren't’ doing something right. Every time we line up to go for another rep, and we feel lightheaded, weak, and in pain, that one quote is what gives me that extra push to continue exceeding myself to become stronger.

Embracing doubt to me means to accept that we are all human and that we all tend to doubt ourselves sometimes. It is very hard to not doubt yourself when you fail a lot, and especially when you have a lot of people doubting you. I have experienced people tell me that I wasn’t good enough, and I've had family that have tried to minimize my goals, but I have to embrace it. I always try to welcome that with open arms, and then use it as motivation to improve as a student-athlete and a person overall. Although it's not easy to just put it to the side, it's time to stop letting doubt affect our performance in life.

In the next few years, my aspirations and goals are limitless. My mom has always taught me to dream big because anything can be achieved with hard work and most importantly initiative. Therefore, I am planning to get certified as a personal trainer by the end of April, and I also hope to work as a personal trainer throughout college and throughout my life. This summer I plan to start working as a trainer at a gym to start gaining experience, and eventually open my own gym. Next school year, I will attend a university to major in biology and minor in kinesiology or exercise science. I will be graduating with my bachelors in 2 to 4 years because I am graduating with my associates this year. Once I get my bachelor’s I will apply for medical school to continue my education and become a sports medicine physician to change the lives of many athletes. This career that I have chosen has sparked a motive in my heart to help many athletes get back up on their feet. Most importantly I plan to continue living life to the fullest, and to appreciate the people and the opportunities that surround me.

-Silvana Lopez / Embrace Doubt 5/1424

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