Final Article 4

Commitment

The stress and anxiety of preparing for finals and pursuing those straight A’s is as much a part of the “college experience” as watching college football is. With all of these negatives, a freshman at Morningside College named Zed Heimensen added the biggest negative of them all to the pile, but also has stayed committed to school and athletics no matter if he is injured.  

This brown haired, bad haircut guy stands tall at 6’2 and always has a smile on his face. When he is not hanging out in the training room or on the football field, he is in his dingy dorm studying – as he would say a “COMMITTED student-athlete”. 

While speaking to Heimensen in his dingy dorm room of his college residence hall, wearing his “usual” Nike sweatpants and Morningside football sweatshirt, he told me about how he is making this negative – a positive but also staying committed through it all. 

Anna Dressen, a senior at Morningside College said, “Commitment is a strong word that many people cannot hold themselves accountable for. Especially after an injury.” It takes love and dedication to want to get better for yourself and others. Dressen explains that one tip to help stay committed is just by making goals for yourself each and every day.

A torn ACL, LCL, lateral hamstring, and a partial PCL tear later, Heimensen has had to stay committed to his rehab, schoolwork, and his relationships with others.

“Staying committed to something is not easy, and when you are injured this bad it makes it 10 times harder”, says Heimensen. “Setting goals, achieving them, and setting more goals is how I get through each day.”

Throughout this crazy process, he learned to not take things for granted, because not being able to walk for 8 weeks on your own puts things into perspective. Also “you just have to stay committed in everything you do even if you’re injured.”

He has stayed committed in his rehab, classes, and his relationships.

Lauren Rohwer, a sophomore at Morningside that has also battled an injury, said that it is not easy staying committed in everything you do after you get hurt. She said “I know Zed, and by how committed he is in everything he does, you would not even realize how bad he actually got hurt.” Rohwer’s tip to staying committed is to “constantly remind yourself of the future and the things you want to achieve.”

Heimensen ended with, “If I did not stay committed in everything I do, nothing would ever get done.”

Being able to stay committed in life in general is tough but staying dedicated to the same everyday things along with an injury is even harder. But there are some great tips to keep you committed in your everyday lifestyle. 

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.