It's Over.

In case you didn't already guess. Wrestling is over. It's been a long four years, and I'm glad that I'm finally done, but I can't help but be a little nostalgic. Because of wrestling, I've learned numerous life lessons, become a better person, become tougher physically and mentally, and gained some great friendships. One of my best friends, is actually a wrestler, and he was my wrestling partner. Without wrestling, we definitely would not have been as close. We've got some great memories from these past four years.

If there was some kind of happiness poll between the athletes of all the different sports, wrestlers would definitely rate the lowest. Wrestling sucks. It's the most physically and mentally draining thing I have ever done. You are constantly using every muscle in your body, but if you don't do it the right way, then you get yelled at. Cutting weight is horrible. You are constantly hungry, and sometimes you are even thirsty, without hope of being satiated or quenched. Hunger transforms from something purely physical to something mental as well, until the majority of your thoughts are laced with some form of food or nourishment.

It's miserable, but if I were asked if I would do it all over again, I would say hell yeah. So basically, if given another chance, would I take the red pill again? Yes. Like I said, it's miserable, but it's also so much more. In wrestling you learn how to break mental barriers that you never thought were possible to overcome. It's hard to explain, but straight-up wrestling is a messed up sport. Every wrestling match is like a fight. Each wrestler struggles for physical domination of the other. And in all honestly, once you get that feeling, when you are controlling the match, and you are dominating them, you feel really good, like a bad ass or something. I always thought of myself as a hunter and whoever I wrestled was my prey. But the other guy probably had some analogy he used to pump himself up. Who knows? Everyone did their own thing.

I did absolutely horrible in the CIF tournament. Throughout this year, I was known for having really good tournaments, wrestling really well, and wrestling fundamentally, but this tournament, the only one that counted for anything, was a different story. I wrestled really badly. I could have beaten both of the guys that I lost to. I just couldn't focus or concentrate. Couldn't pump myself up like I usually do. It's ironic. There were a few tournaments where I was the last guy on our team to be left in the tournament. I was the first one to be eliminated from this one.

O well. It's all over now. I achieved nothing spectacular in my career. My senior year record was pretty good, but no outstanding placings, no first place medals. I'll just slip through the cracks and join the ranks of all the other wrestlers who could not become legends. I did gain some personal insight though. I've gained a bit of confidence. I was good for a while, a force to be reckoned with. I got hooked on winning, and it felt good. And I've proven to myself that I could push myself and break barriers. So even if I didn't win league or place in CIF, I got something out of this season. I know that I got something out of my career.

I am officially done with my high-school athletic career. That chapter of my life is over. And a new one begins...