For many athletes, the end of a season, graduation, retirement, or injury is more than just the end of competition. It can feel like losing a part of yourself. For years, your schedule was built around practices, games, teammates, coaches, and constant goals. Your identity may have been closely connected to your sport. When that chapter ends, many athletes experience uncertainty, grief, loneliness, or a loss of purpose. These feelings are incredibly common, yet they are often

Common Myths and Facts Starting therapy can feel intimidating, especially when there are so many misconceptions surrounding mental health support. Many people delay seeking help because they believe they need to have everything figured out before reaching out. We want to help break down the myths around therapy and make mental health support feel more approachable, accessible, and empowering. Myth: You Need a “Clear” Problem to Start Therapy Fact: Therapy Can Help You Better

Let’s Not Wait Until Another Person Dies By Julian Bell My name is Julian Bell, and I am a medically retired student athlete at Clemson University. I played lacrosse from first grade through my sophomore year of college, until I medically retired due to chronic stress reactions and chronic shin splints in both legs. I tried every treatment imaginable, but nothing worked. Eventually, we resorted to surgery: 8 inch plates and 6 screws in each shin during my freshman year of co

The ominous “post-grad transition” is approaching. It’s been on your mind for a while. Jaded adults warn you of its mighty force. Countless self-help books have been written on the subject. You can prepare… but this time will look different for everyone. The cliché is true: the only constant is change. Three years after graduating, I’m still in the transition. It’s been messy, unexpected and beautiful. I’d compare it to a butterfly's metamorphosis set against the scenery of a

1. Ask yourself what gives YOU purpose. Build a post-grad lifestyle around what is important to you. Find a job or career path that moves you in a direction you find worthwhile. Locate yourself in a city with the things that mean most to you whether that's family, the outdoors, networking opportunities, etc. Find friends that lift you up and allow you to be vulnerable. 2. Find a mentor. It should be someone who is on the other side of their twenties and can give you honest ad

My name is Sophia Denison-Johnston and I’ve been rowing for the past dozen years. As a young adult post-college, navigating my sport and pursuing a rowing career without the support network that college provided has been an incredible growth experience— It’s been rewarding, devastating, and anything but easy. A few days ago USRowing made an announcement about changing the structure of high performance rowing to better support athletes. To be honest, it had me a little emotio

The last couple years have been a roller coaster of intense highs and some shocking lows. A couple weeks after graduating from UCLA (in...

https://www.fliqueeditorial.com/opinionpieces/the-quarter-life-crisis-of-a-college-athlete @christina_chenault wrote an incredible article called “The Quarter Life Crisis of a College Athlete” which discusses how student athletes transfer into a different time of their lives. She talks about her personal experiences as an elite Track & Field athlete and the important topics of the cyclical lifestyle of an athlete, ego depletion, and identity foreclosure during the transition

To say the least, for me, being a student athlete at Duke was amazing. My four years on Duke Women’s Rowing Team (DWR) were something special. DWR got a bid to NCAAs twice, I had the honour of being captain for 2 years, and DWR got its first ever gold medal at ACCs my senior year. Accolades aside, DWR has my heart; my team means the world to me, I’ve made friends for life, I have incredible mentors, and the lessons I’ve learned and the memories I have will always be with me a