Danielle in Baton Rouge

When I was in high school, my main identity was as an athlete. This surprises no one who knew me back then, but it might be news to some of my current friends. When I injured my knee during my junior year, I was devastated. My imagined future revolved around playing college soccer, so the injury shattered all kinds of expectations I was holding for how the next several years would go. I had surgery and committed to an extreme regimen of physical therapy so I could bring my reality and my expected future back into alignment. During my senior year, I made a compromise: I would release my expectations of playing soccer in college, but I would play softball instead. Still an athlete, different sport. I tried out and received a college scholarship to play softball. Then, on my graduation night from high school, I re-injured my knee at a party. I spent the next morning laid out on a table at my physical therapist’s office sobbing. My dad sat next to me and I looked over to catch him qu