No one prepares you for what happens after the final buzzer sounds…after four years of blood, sweat, and tears to come up short is soul crushing…or so I thought.
For four years my life was consumed with one thing. Basketball. More specifically, winning the MAAC Championship. But no one prepared me for what happens after. After it is all said and done and your time has run out, then what? I have written plenty of blogs about my time at Siena and how much my experience there has made me into the person I am today. With the MAAC Tournament happening this weekend I thought it would be appropriate to talk about my final game in a Siena uniform.
My career at Siena ended on March 4, 2017. For the second time in three years we were defeated by Iona in the tournament. The team that we had beaten twice in the regular season that year. When I left the court for the final time, every emotion in the world hit me at once. How could it be over? Could I have done more? What now? Being on this team has defined who I am, so who am I without this Siena team?
My face kind of says it all here as I exited the game for the final time. There were so many questions that flooded into my mind in the time after it was all over. For weeks I wasn’t sure what to do, it felt like I had lost a significant part of who I am. Especially when the team began post-season workouts, I couldn’t help but feel like I should still be in that gym playing with them. For those who know me and know how much being on time means to me, I was also in a constant state of anxiety thinking I was late to practice for those weeks that followed haha. Eventually, though, I realized all of these feelings and questions were actually a good thing in a way. Everyone warns you from the beginning that your time in college will go by fast, so enjoy it. They were right. It did go by way too fast, and the fact that I still miss it so much just goes to show how much of an impact my time at Siena has had on my life. Though my collegiate career had come to a close, there was no doubt in my mind that all blood, sweat, and tears was all worth it. We may not have won a MAAC Championship in my time at Siena, but what I did gain from my experience I can take with me forever. The relationships I formed and the lessons I learned may not be a physical trophy, but they are priceless to me and I wouldn’t trade them for anything.
A year has gone by since I hung that jersey up for the final time. I still miss my time at Siena more than anything, and find that I struggle at times with playing on a new team. Mainly because it isn’t Siena. The different environment and playing on a new team was a huge culture shock at first. Having to prove yourself all over again to an unfamiliar team was definitely intimidating at first. Luckily, I was placed here in Waterford with the Wildcats and could not have asked for a better place to finish my basketball career. We haven’t had the best season, but the people here are great and this experience is once in a lifetime. Being part of the SCL family really has helped me in so many ways with showing me what my life looks like without Siena. It has been a great experience to continue my school and basketball, all while helping the community. It really has been the best way for me to figure out who I am without Siena, and is helping me transition into figuring out what I actually want to do with the rest of my life. After about a year away, I think Siena was just the starting point for me, and I cannot wait to see what the future holds!
So to all the seniors out there whose clock is ticking, enjoy it. There will be no other time that could equate to the feeling of playing in March, so make the most of it and leave it all out on the court! Specifically, to my Siena Saints…make all the hard work worth it this weekend and get that RINGGG!!!
-Meg
P.S.- To all those seniors, if you are looking for a great opportunity after it’s all said and done, I would highly suggest applying to be a Victory Scholar!
