Giving up your passion is the greatest torture of all. Just like for some athletes who used to play with pride and joy during high school but decided to let go of the sport that they grew and love once their college life takes over—a decision that will surely hunt you. There’s more to life than to ball, they say. Or is it the case?

When the crowd starts to yell and sing for your name as you led the ball to the winning point, one’s self wouldn’t notice at all how they drove the audience crazy as hell. Once you get that solid and winning point, the crowd will start to rumble in the middle of the court rejoicing, as if they are the ones who won. Your victory is also your school’s victory and for every student. So, for the student-athletes, these kinds of moments are what they fight for. 

Remember the time wherein you just tried your moonshot throw that led your team to be crowned as the champions? How about the time when your heart feels like it wanted to jut out your chest during a match point or maybe a buzzer-beater of the game? Really, nostalgic.

And I know for sure that every student-athlete has a story about Gatorade and that at some point in your life you tried and actually gave it to your crush who is a varsity player. Some may even try to slip it in their crush’s bag and leave a note saying from your secret admirer or good luck babe with a wink emoji. Bring back memories, huh? 

Add it to the list wherein your teammates are fighting over a jersey number because they would like to have the same number just like their UAAP idols or couple number for their ‘jowa’. 

The frustration of having a tan line just as the season is coming and you need to train and train even at an upright day of 2 pm in the afternoon is one thing to think of too. We all know that every athlete hates to do this but still does.  But, since ball is life, who cares if your skin is as dark as charcoal? Who cares if your legs gained too much muscle that looked like shawarma? No one, really. After all, it’s all about you and what or who you play for.

Balancing your studies and training is also crucial. School in the morning, training in the afternoon and there’s a lot of homework to do but your body is too tired you end up staying up all night—sleepless. Sometimes, you can’t feel your leg anymore and or can’t even walk properly nor go upstairs without shouting in pain. You would not even know if you even haven’t tasted a single bite of it. 

Time will pass by in just a blink of an eye and four years or even six years just seems like yesterday. By this time, one starts to wonder if it is worth enough to focus on their passion for playing or let it go? Some still pursue it but most of the time many choose not to. And I am part of the majority who give up on their passion for playing and chose to think that there’s more to life than to ball. But right now, there is a part of me that believes my decision was right while the rest begs to differ.

Sure, there is not even a single moment that made me wonder about the possibilities of trying more and fighting for more. However, soon I realized that maybe we were just not meant to be or maybe we are destined to do something outside the court.

Definitely, the deafening cheer, ‘proud’ moments, deadly training without a water break, ‘jologs’ to cool jerseys, the ‘kilig’ moments on receiving a Gatorade were really unparalleled and incomparable and for the 6 years of playing, I will always remember and miss the moment of me having a mindset of ball is life. But for now, I am a living proof that ball is life but there’s more life than to ball.