It’s Okay To Not Feel Okay
By Solomon Jones
If you would have asked me what the next objective would be in the early months of 2020, I would have laughed at you, because in all honesty who knew what would happen next?
2020 was a turning point for us all. A pandemic virus swept the nation, claiming hundreds upon thousands of lives. A struggle for gender and racial equality, divided families and friends — there was nothing certain for athletes.
With the COVID-19 virus in play, basketball shut down, impeding recruitment, halting eligibility, clogging the transfer portal, the list goes on. Scholarships and interest I had with schools began dwindling and were rescinded slowly, one by one.
I fell into a slump and a mild-depression. When you are met with extremes, when you are challenged severely, how do you handle it? How do you understand it? How do you find a solution? These questions circled my mind for days, weeks, a span of months. It was even harder for me to find the answer because I had just been through so much before — a heartbreaking end to a relationship, internal family problems, college uncertainty, etc. It all came bearing down on me. But in spite of it all, basketball was there for me when I needed it the most. An escape though temporary. You see these extremes, these feelings, these doubts are always going to be there, it’s life. My answer to my questions earlier can be described as this:
You learn to adapt, you learn to live with these problems, to understand them, to know why they are there, and how you can learn from them.
There is no exact answer, but this is how I got through what I went through. Glory be to God, I was able to earn eight basketball scholarships this year. It was time to make a decision when I received a phone call from a very unexpected Coach and their entire staff. They understood my journey, what I've been through, who and what I want to be, and the type of athlete I aspire to become.
You see the beauty of uncertainty is that you don’t know what’s going to happen next, but as long as you learn to adapt to the situations beyond your control, you will be the person you want to be. You will end up at your destination: ready to start a new journey.
On June 7th, 2021 at 12:30 pm Pacific Time, after much consideration, thought, and prayer with my family, coaches, and mentors, I committed to Air Force Academy to play Division 1 Basketball and continue my education. It will be a challenge to redshirt my freshman year, but I’m ready to compete and show all those who doubted why I am at the level I am at. Through all my obstacles and challenges I faced, despite the uncontrollables and the fear, the depression, the hatred of the situation, I made it out. Through this I was able to become a better man, a better athlete, a better image in the eyes of others. Various athletes are still in my type of situation. If I had to give them advice, they’d probably frown at my answer, but then I’ll proceed to show them this article and reiterate, that as crazy as it sounds…
It’s okay, to not feel okay.