The buzzer sounds at the end of the second period and the score is tied 3-3. This was the first time I was entered into the 2015 Individual wrestling district tournament. In the back of my head, I knew that this could be my last period ever wrestling in my high school career. The opponent and I both put our feet on the line and began to battle for the fight of our careers.

We tie up and start bumping heads. Both of us exchanged our share of moves and found out that no move was successful. One minute remained in the match, I put every effort I had into those last few moments. I tried to run a move and before I knew, I was on the ground watching the final moments of my high school wrestling career tick away.

The match was over and I lost to a final score of 4-3. I got up and immediately started to tear up because I had realized that I would never wrestle again. I went to my coach and it was even harder because he told me how good I had done this year and that there was nothing I should have been ashamed of.The biggest problem I faced was that I had no idea what I was going do next.

Being a senior, I have no clue what to do with my life at this point. I ended up sitting down with a very close friend of mine that told me five key things that I should do to rebound myself and get back on the saddle of keeping calm.

• Don’t be a couch potato and start putting on weight. Instead, use the conditioning that you worked so hard for and stay active.

After the conclusion of the wrestling season, I fell into a depression and never wanted to get back to physical activity. Two weeks went by and I noticed that I put on about 10 pounds. I sat down and realized that I had to do something about the fact that I was putting weight back on. That day I walked into Planet Fitness and signed myself up for a gym membership. Now, I’ll admit it was hard to get back into physical activity, but since I got back into the groove of things, I lost the 10 pounds I put on and I’m still going down.

• Get yourself into a hobby you enjoy.

This might be a little bit on the lazier side of things but it all depends on what you do. For example, if you ask anyone of my friends, I can really get into video games and play them for hours on end. I’m sure many people can agree with me saying that video games may not be the best way to cope with life but it’s what I enjoy. It’s important to try and find something that you enjoy and are good at. Also, if nothing works out, there’s always Netflix.

• Indulge yourself into school work.

Being a senior this year has opened my eyes into how important it is to keep your grades up. Recently, I was accepted to Central Michigan University (Fire Up, Chips!). I have been to many meetings that have stressed the importance of getting the best possible grades. This is not just due to the fact that it would look good on applications but also for scholarships. College is a lot of money. Even if a scholarship is only worth $500. It’s $500 that you don’t have to pay out of your pocket. So just keep in mind that grades matter in our senior year.

• Try to earn some money by getting a job.

This topic is very easy for me to talk about because I have had the honor of having the same job now for almost a year. I’ll be the first one to admit that I hate going to work and working long hours for minimum-wage. If you ask my opinion, you have to look at the situation like this, It’s money and you have to earn it. Plus gas and insurance don’t pay for themselves. Also, having a job can look very good when it comes down to getting your first full-time job when the time comes.

• Enjoy the last few months that you have at your high school

Senior year is supposed to be the best time of our lives, so why not enjoy the ride? This year, I found the best way to show my school pride, by becoming the Howell mascot. That experience alone was one that I will never forget. Also, this year I had the honor of being a finalist in the Mr. Highlander competition to show who has the most school pride. Even though I did not win, it was still so much fun and I still get butterflies thinking about it. Senior year is an awesome time, don’t let it just pass on by.

It’s still hard accepting the fact that I will never participate in the sport that I love. I’m starting to look at it this way, I worked my behind off for three years. In those three years, I truly accomplished a lot. I stepped to the starting heavyweight role for the first time ever. Also, I worked hard enough to earn the captain role for my wrestling team. So next time you look back on what you have accomplished, remember to think about all the positive things that came out of your sports.

I would like to finish by saying thanks to everyone that helped me in any sport that I participated in. Also a special thanks to Dan Hutcheson for teaching me to never enter a battle without being confident that you will win.