Taking risks

Risks

With the sport of gymnastics, there's always a risk that you could get hurt. Even on the simplest of things done even the slightest bit incorrect could result in an injury, minor or major. Most gymnasts go through their fair share of injuries, both big and small. However, there are always the lucky few who just don't get hurt, and they are certainly lucky because of that. My younger sister, for example, is one of those lucky few. She has never been hurt and has never had to miss practices or competitions because of an injury. I am not one of the lucky ones, unfortunately. I get injured so often that it's hard sometimes to even think I'm related to my sister! My minor injuries aren't important but some of my major ones include two fractured tibias and a torn muscle in my knee that I am currently dealing with. 

What happens because of the risks taken

With injuries come doctors appointments, scans, and of course physical therapy. You eventually become a regular at your orthopedist's office and physical therapy seems normal after a while. MRIs and X-rays become just a part of life and you have more braces, boots, crutches, and prescriptions than you thought one person could have. In some cases, it is necessary for you to get surgery for your injury, but fortunately for me I haven't needed a surgery because of an injury. 

Positive outcomes 

Even though you may think you're going to die if you are out of the gym for too long, you don't. In fact, your body gets time to heal and rest itself, which sometimes positively impacts your return to the sport! Also, the time off allows you to get involved in other activities that you otherwise would not have been able to do because of gymnastics. And, of course, you become a master at keeping a positive attitude about your situation and are easily able to convince and tell people that you are fine and you are healing well even if that is not the case.

This week, I wasn't able to come up with something more interesting to write about but here is the best insight I have regarding injuries caused because of the risks taken by gymnasts while doing what they love. 

Paige Woodard Google Hangout

Yesterday, the 8th of May, I took part in a google hangout with a high school senior named Paige Woodard who is very interested in digital citizenship, specifically social media. This was the very first google hangout I have been a part of and it was a very interesting experience. I learned a lot about how Paige got to where she is today and how she became so involved in social media and digital citizenship.

I learned that is critical to have a public professional account and a private personal account on all social media sites. But you should be aware that even if you have a private account, all someone needs to so is screenshot something and put it out on a social media site and it is no longer private, the point in that being that nothing stays private forever! It is very important to protect yourself online and having accounts be private is a good way to protect yourself. Another big thing that I learned is that it is important to leave a positive digital footprint. Whatever you do online can always be found by either someone who is considering hiring you for a job or by a college admissions officer who is deciding whether to accept you or not accept you. It is important to make sure that you are completley comfortable with everything you post and that everything you post is positively affecting you and your online image. There is so much more to know about how to be a good digital citizen on social media sites but those points are what stood out to me the most! I hope you all agree and follow the good advice given by Paige!