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Correspondence: Olivia Sahaydak, Freshman Duke Field Hockey
“You allowed me to begin to realize that my positivity and acts of kindness can fuel another person’s happiness. I want to make that my mission.”
Dear Coach Johns,
I wanted to reach out to you and thank you for speaking to us at the ACTION meeting this past Monday night. Although I usually come into these meetings with a closed mind, your presentation really allowed myself to realize that it’s okay to open up to other people and truly understand that I am not alone.
I must do everything in my power to be a more positive person.
Throughout my senior year of high school, I always caught myself counting down the days until I would begin school at Duke. I was so excited not only because it is an amazing blessing and opportunity, but because I would be able to start fresh, in a sense. That idea that I would have the chance to meet new people and form new relationships had me overly excited. I had very high expectations for my start at Duke. When I first arrived in Durham in late June for summer school, I immediately formed wonderful friendships in a matter of weeks, leading me to believe that they would last a very long time. They almost seemed too good to be true. I felt comfort and nothing but pure happiness at this point. However, once the regular school year started, a lot seemed to change. I began my field hockey season and was stressed out and overwhelmed, as I believed any first-year college student would be. However, I really let these emotions get to me. I easily got very upset because everyone around me was out making new friends while I started to lose mine because I was so busy trying to balance my academics and athletics. I began to think very negatively and am still having a very hard time turning my outlook on life around.
I’ve recently been able to recognize that my negativity is not benefiting me in any way and that I need to stop thinking like that and begin to think more positively. I don’t want people to pity me whatsoever, but I constantly find myself back with a negative mindset.
I am a firm believer in everything happening for a reason, but when I think about it, I wish I knew exactly why things are the way they are. Over the past few years, I’ve struggled with being able to discover who I truly am and want to be. Sometimes I feel that I am not good enough and am doing something wrong and want to figure out how I can solve that problem. I want to be able to truly find my purpose in life and understand that I am in my current position for a reason.
I want to honestly be able to answer who I want to be on my bus and fill my life with people who love and care about me. You allowed me to begin to realize that my positivity and acts of kindness can fuel another person’s happiness. I want to make that my mission.
I usually struggle when it comes to fully opening up to other people, so even writing this email takes a lot. I am very happy that I am able to do this. I want to thank you again for opening up my mind to a world of positivity and for allowing me to recognize that my actions can significantly influence other people around me. I really appreciate you taking the time to talk to us. I believe that your speech will truly lead me to having a better outlook on my life at Duke and will allow me to eventually discover who I truly am and want to be. From the bottom of my heart, I thank you.
Sincerely,
Olivia Sahaydak
Freshman
Duke Field Hockey