Dislocating my kneecaps twice in two years should have been the worst experience of my life, but it has actually made me a more positive person. The first time I dislocated my kneecap, I had a very negative view on the world. But the second time it happened, I was able to make the best of a bad situation.

During this issues brainstorming, I brought up the idea of how injuries can actually be a positive experiences. My fellow staff member, junior Sam Lopez, who broke his leg over the summer, disagreed saying it was the worst experience of his life because of everything it took away from him. While I agree that being injured does take a lot away from you, focusing on the positive can help make the worst not so bad. 

While injured, life does pass you by. There are things that you miss out on. However, it teaches you to appreciate things you can’t do any more.

Doing simple activities such as going up and down stairs, sitting and walking become incredibly hard. You really learn how to appreciate the little things. Now, when I do normal tasks I have a sense of accomplishment and feel lucky to do something so easy as running, which is something I would never thought I would say.

Instead of fixating on what I couldn’t do, I focused on what I could do. It’s impossible to not think about everything you can’t do, but thinking about the things that you can do is a way to bring happiness to a frustrating life. Something I couldn’t do was learn the dances for the musical. So I threw myself at student directing, because it was something I could do. It made the time that I couldn’t dance go exponentially faster.

Before my injury, I considered myself a pessimist when it came to negative situations, but now I can say I am an optimist. Being able to find the good during an injury, which is one of the worst things that can happen to a person, has taught me to find good in any situation.

I understand that the a glass is half empty outlook after an injury. That is how I was after I dislocated my kneecap the first time and I thought my life was over. Having a positive outlook is not something everyone can have, it takes a lot of work, but it makes a monumental difference. Being optimistic during my rehabilitation, I truly believe, led to my knee healing faster. I was highly motivated to regain the strength in my knee with a strength I never thought I could have.

My injury has really been a “glass is half full” experience. After two months of healing I have a new found optimism in my life.

When the newspaper staff had to brainstorm opinion ideas for this issue, the topic of injuries came up from a fellow member of mine, senior Claire Biles. I hadn’t planned on writing an opinion this issue, but when Claire said that after dislocating her kneecap, it hasn’t been all that bad during her recovery, I couldn’t help but disagree. Although I praise Claire for having a “glass half full” outlook on her injury, having broken my right leg and destroying all of the ligaments in my ankle back in July and still not being able to do a whole lot with my right leg alone five months later, I can’t help but have a “glass half empty” outlook on my own injury. I’m not at all trying to be a pessimist, it’s just that injuries like these are incredibly degrading physically, and even more so mentally, for people who are generally active.

For starters, I’ve never been one to ask for help from anyone, ever. After breaking my leg, I had to come to terms with the fact that I couldn’t do simple tasks such as getting a plate of food, showering, or going up and down the stairs without a lot of effort. For months, I had to push off my responsibilities around the house onto the rest of my family and rely on them for self-care such as icing, medication, food, etc. I felt like a burden and a nuisance to anyone when I asked them to help me with a task that would normally take minimal effort.

Due to the fact that I had to rely on others for everyday help, I laid around the house expending zero physical effort. Not only was I too stubborn mentally to be down and out for five months, but I now had to watch the muscle in my right leg deteriorate. This affected me way more than I anticipated. I knew that I wouldn’t be anywhere close to where I used to be physically. But watching it happen before my own eyes was crushing because I pride myself on being active and generally fit and I continue to struggle with how I feel physically.

While breaking my leg was mentally and physically stressful, what really hit me was that it pretty much wiped my soccer career off the face of the Earth. I knew that I wouldn’t be able to play high school soccer this year and I knew that I wouldn’t be able to get back into club soccer right away. What sucked even more was the disconnect I felt from the teams I call my soccer family and that affected my soccer career more than anything else. While I know that I will eventually recover and be able to play sports again — such as being able to snowboard this winter as that isn’t as hard on my ankle — I was still taken away from something that I loved.

As much as I advocate for an optimistic outlook on life, there’s just not a whole  lot of positive things that I could get out of breaking my leg besides not having to do chores for a good four months. I was limited in what I could do physically, no matter how much I strived to do what I could to recover.