Just do it — Shanice Marcelle

One step forward, two steps back.

Have you ever felt like the odds are stacked against you.

Like the Universe is trying to make it excruciatingly difficult for you to achieve the dreams and goals that you have for yourself?

The moment you begin to feel like you're on the right track life decides to pull the rug out from underneath you, so you fall on your face and falter yet again.

Ever been there?

I have.

Two weeks ago we began to pick up our training in the sand. We had a couple of game play practices and I was starting to feel really confident about the improvements I was making individually and with my partner. Well, just as things were ramping up my body decided against that, and I injured my right knee during what should have been a normal play.

Things got swollen, my gait became stiff, and I've needed to take some time off to let my body heal.

(So I escaped to San Diego for some TLC, because sometimes love is the best medicine)

The setback amongst the setback amidst the comeback.

Something like that.

Here's the funny thing about injuries.

Everybody is cheering for you. You’ve got everybody that you need in your corner as you get ready for the next round to begin. Everybody is on your side.

Except for you.

Doubt creeps in. Worry takes hold. Uncertainty clouds your vision. And you begin to question.

Did I make the right decision?

Did I come back too soon?

What did I do wrong?

Will I ever be as good as I was?

Is this the end?

And the thoughts battle it out for the spotlight to be the star of the show. But, as the chaos settles you remember why you keep going after a dream that at times feels lightyears away. For the love of the game and all that it has brought you. You remember the one word that you've been saying to yourself for years to get you through the days when you feel like giving up.

Perseverance.

And you remember that struggle cultivates strength that cannot be developed any other way. Hope becomes the driving force to push through the adversity to realize how strong you can become. That you are capable of more, and that there is nothing you can’t overcome. That you are more battle tested than the opponents and they will never break you.

“Adversity is like a strong wind. It tears away from us all but the things that cannot be torn, so that we see ourselves as we really are.” - Arthur Golden

With that being said I've been able to pick my feet up, begin weight training, and now starts the slow build once more to be competition ready in the months to come.

Slow and steady wins the race.

The odds aren't in my favour, but I know what type of character I am going to be. I know what type of character I am.

Nike taught me best in times of hardship.

Just do it.