Essay Example on Eight games into my freshman year at Curry College in Milton Massachusetts

Eight games into my freshman year at Curry College in Milton Massachusetts I suffered a Traumatic Brain Injury while competing for the college s Men s Varsity Soccer team Prior to the injury I started the first eight games and was having a particularly good season for a freshman I was nominated and heavily favored to win Newcomer of the Year and Most Valuable Player up Unfortunately twenty minutes into the first half of the eighth game versus Wentworth Institute of Technology I was knocked unconscious as I was trying to clear the ball out of our defensive end As I went up to clear the ball out of our goalkeeper's area with my head I took an elbow to the temple which caused me to lose consciousness and fall face first onto the playing surface which was made of artificial turf The fall caused significant damage to the left half of my face and left me temporarily unable to speak I was immediately carted off the field and taken for evaluation The injury cut my freshmen season short and I missed the last four games of the season ultimately losing both awards that I was initially nominated for due to my extended absence on the playing field Not only did the injury cost me half of my first collegiate season it also left me with several challenging medical issues to overcome My medical injuries included severe migraines vision problems short term memory loss and a significant speech impediment which included stuttering 

These medical injuries not only impacted my athletic career but had a significant effect on my ability to focus and succeed in my academic studies as well The injury and the recovery process would have a significant influence throughout my personal and professional life Josh Rivera SG 2D L200 Crucible Essay My injury and the subsequent recovery process taught me a number of things above all it showed me what it means to truly be resilient I was driven not to allow this injury define my athletic or academic career I was motivated to do whatever it took to overcome my injuries and commit myself to the recovery process After numerous rehabilitation and physical therapy sessions I was able to recover from my injuries and continue my athletic career and academic studies in less than 12 months The recovery process helped me bounce back physically and mentally stronger and helped me realize that staying resilient no matter how turbulent things may seem is key to moving forward and achieving your objectives I never took pity on myself after the injury occurred or throughout the recovery process I viewed the rehabilitation process as an opportunity to become stronger mentally physically and emotionally As difficult as the entire process was I tried to build on the positives and continue to push and move forward I was named the captain of the team going into my second collegiate soccer season 

The honor and privilege provided me the opportunity not only to lead but to share and implement some lessons learned throughout the season and gave me the chance to continue to grow as a leader This experience shaped the type of leader I would become throughout my military career Throughout the entire process and subsequent seasons I learned various skills that enhanced my leadership abilities skills that I still value and utilize today First I learned to become more coachable becoming more open to feedback and constantly seeking out constructive criticism from my supervisors peers subordinates and mentors This gave me the chance to continuously Josh Rivera SG 2D L200 Crucible Essay improve my skills and abilities and become an indispensable asset to any organization I am a part of I also learned to continue to build positive trusting relationships in order to unify and create strong teams Creating strong teams and building positive relationships leads to individuals within the organization supporting big or small changes I also learned to be more of a risk taker by trying new ideas and or approaches in order to get my organization out of stalemate or slump 

Finally I learned the most valuable skill which is to ensure that I took the time to not only develop myself but develop others as well I wanted to ensure that I provided the necessary feedback and coaching that my subordinates needed in order to learn from their mistakes and become more resilient as they encountered potential future failures My athletic injury and recovery had an incredible impact on all aspects of my life and helped shaped what type of leader I would become throughout my military career The skills I obtained throughout the whole process also laid the foundation for the type of leader I will be given the opportunity to be in command of an organization I want to be able to create an organization and environment that when faced with adversity and setbacks we are collectively able to bounce back stronger than before Taking on this mentality would allow our organization to tackle challenges head on and always taking the initiative when taking on issues In order to create this type of environment within the organization I would need to attract and recruit resilient individuals who are capable and empowered enough to take bold risks but self correct quickly in order to adapt before issues become unmanageable I would expect individuals in my organization to also be lifelong learners and to actively encourage constructive feedback in order to constantly improve our organization and give everyone on the team a voice Finally the impact of my experience drives me to build an organization that is not only well prepared and disciplined but have the courage to embrace change and take risks in order to brave the unforeseen obstacles challenges and thrive