Editor's Note:  This is the sixth piece in a series of stories shared by Gorillas to Gorillas as we all embark upon this new "season" in our lives. These certainly are unprecedented times, for young and old alike. Our hope is for Gorilla student-athletes, past and present, coaches and members of Gorilla Nation to read these pieces, awaken their Gorilla memories and then compose their own story to share with us. There is strength in numbers.
 
This idea of sharing stories of being a Gorilla and how we are handling this new season of our lives is something that can be so helpful to all of us. As a current athlete who was affected by this pandemic and what has it caused in our lives, I have used this time to think about truly what this all means especially from an athlete who was out-of-season.
 
As I look back 2019 was a tough year for me. In March 2019, I had to have surgery to repair my shoulder. After redshirting my first fall volleyball season and then hoping spring would be a time to get better, this was a setback. But I changed my mindset, told myself it was going to make me better and worked hard to get back to being competitive on the court the next fall. I tried my best but as any athlete who has had a significant injury knows, your first season after an injury is tough. Between not being completely ready to be back, not seeing court time, and not my having my family close to me since I am from out-of-state, it all took a toll on my life. That season was just a mental battle to be ready for whatever got thrown my way. I never would have thought that the cancellation of everything during the spring was coming.
 
While spring volleyball isn't a true competition season between the conference or other schools, it is a competition within your team. You are battling to show your coaches you are the best option to help the team win. That was my goal for this spring ball season. I was ready to prove I could hold my own on the court.
 
When I got the news that the rest of the spring season was over, I was home supporting my brother because he was supposed to be competing for the Colorado State High School Basketball Championship. I received the news he wouldn't get to play the Final Four game and not a few hours after, we got news everything in our PSU world was canceled. It wasn't for a day or two that I realized what I was losing, even as an out-of-season athlete. I was losing precious gym time with my team that will make us better to be as competitive as possible in the fall championship season. I was losing the opportunity to help raise money for Make-A-Wish foundation through the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) and Gorillas Got Talent. I was also losing a chance to represent Pitt State and the MIAA at the national level for an NCAA Leadership Convention.
 
While these are not major things like losing an eligibility season or a championship, they still hurt. They hurt because our time as a student-athlete is already short enough. Things were looking up for so many people either coming off an injury or ready to have a better season than the year before or even just building team comradery with new coaches or teammates. If having this much time has taught me anything, it is that no matter what life throws at us, we are going to be okay and there is something bigger coming from all of this.
 
This new season in our lives may not be a competition season where we are on the field or track or court but it is a time to realize that athletics has given us the ability to overcome and adapt to a new way of life. When you first go to college and move away from everything you have known, you are adapting and overcoming new challenges. When you get injured and have to sit out of a season, you are adapting and overcoming. When your starting spot is taken from you, you are adapting and overcoming. Athletics teaches us more than just how to compete and win. It teaches us to adapt to our situation and overcome the challenges in front of us.
 
This new season in our lives is no different. We need to adapt to the environments we are given and overcome the training difficulties, mental hesitations, or pure sadness that comes from this. I encourage you to reach out to teammates, coaches or Athletic Department staff because you are not alone through any of this. You have a support system backing you up from PSU. We will adapt to our new season and overcome the challenges that COVID-19 has caused in our lives.
 
Emily Hanenberg
 
Emily Hanenberg is a redshirt sophomore member of the Pittsburg State University volleyball program. A native of Pueblo, Colo., Emily is an exercise science major as well as the current President of PSU's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee.
 
Please share your own personal stories/thoughts via email to dwilkes@pittstate.edu. We want to share them! (PSU Athletics reserves the right to edit content for space and appropriateness. We cannot promise to publish every submission, but we will do our best.) Thanks Gorilla Nation!

Through the Eyes of a Gorilla Archives
Vol. I - Dan Wilkes, Associate AD/Communications (Apr. 3)
Vol. II - Levi Wyrick, Football/Track & Field Athlete (Apr. 7)
Vol. III - Amanda Davied, Women's Basketball Coach (Apr. 10)
Vol. IV - Chris Hanna, PSU Alum/Football Athlete (Apr. 13)
Vol. V - Jeff Moreland, PSU Alum/Football Athlete