After being diagnosed with asthma my last year of middle school, things have changed tremendously in my life. I went from focusing on my athletics to academics, which was a hard change for me. My whole life, I have always been involved in sports, starting from dancing at five years old. Once I got into middle school, I started running track and cross country, and I also joined the basketball team. Sports was always a getaway for me where I could silence my mind. I thrived on improvement and felt rushes of adrenaline when I pushed myself harder. After the lockdown, I got sick with COVID-19. It put me down for a month. At first, I thought the asthma symptoms were just long-term side effects that eventually were going to go away, but it never did. I started struggling in sports; I needed to use my inhaler often, and it had a big impact on my mental health. Doing sports was my peace and when I noticed I couldn’t function like I used to, the rush I felt started to die. When sophomore year came around, I made the hardest decision that still affects me today. I quit all sports. It was really heartbreaking for me, and I had a hard time finding something to fill that void. When the next basketball season came around, one of the coaches that I frequently talked to, came up to me and invited me to become a manager for his team. Although I stopped playing basketball, I knew that managing would still let me be a part of the family I was once in. I began learning everything that I could do from the sidelines in order to make the coach’s and the player’s job easier. I am currently in my third year of basketball managing, and I am very grateful to still be able to contribute what I can to the team, even if I can’t play anymore. I started a new asthma medication almost a month ago, and it finally feels like I can breathe normally again. For the future, my goals are to go to college at CMU and then be accepted into their radiology program. I am going to be getting my Bachelor’s of Radiologic Sciences to become a radiology technician. I’ve had a passion for the medical field for a long time now, since all my experiences have been good. Giving people the same safe and welcomed experience I’ve had with other medical professionals is what I want to do with my life. Although asthma took away something I once enjoyed, I have found my new path in academics and a future that I will continue to push for.