My last tournament in the Midwest! I won my first round match today. I beat a solid player who has ATP points, so if I ever needed proof that I’m good enough to get pro ranking, that was it. My dad’s here to see the action live, which has been fun.
We saw drag racing and I can’t say I understand why people like it, but my Dad reminded me that I don’t really know much about how cars work and that knowledge would make the sport more interesting for sure. Plus, I’m never been a fan of anything that’s hella loud. And we crushed some BBQ.
I stayed at my college teammates family’s house near St. Louis this past weekend and it was great to not be in a hotel for the first time in a few weeks.
- I missed video games. I was playing Fortnite for hours every day this week and I remembered why I was so tired all the time in college.
- I didn’t eat very healthy.
- It was great to be around with such a nice and accommodating family.
main reflection: when I’m traveling from hotel to hotel every week I kind of feel separated from society. I feel like a visitor to all these foreign towns. I was in my “tennis mode” and I forgot that I have a choice of how I want to spend my day. Suddenly once I’m removed from the tennis world (living with a family) hitting twice in one day seems excessive. I’ve learned the good feeling of eating well, training well and getting sleep.
Also I realized that most people face the same struggles I’ve discussed on this blog; but, only few really engage with these thoughts and try to understand them. I have no idea if it’s a positive or negative aspect, but I believe it’s the truth. I should be easy on myself because just being aware of the mental conflicts is a good step. Some people go their whole life without identifying the conflicts I’ve observed in my mind on and off the court. And it’s important to me.
Being in the middle of the country is cool for me even if the towns aren’t incredible. It’s cool being close to so many cities I’ve never been to: Memphis, Indianapolis, Kansas City and Nashville. It’s a whole other world out here, and I can’t help but imagine how different my life would have been if I grew up here. Especially when I pass through these small towns with not much other than farmland.
I’m starting to pick up a lot of books in these towns, but I haven’t read much of them. I’m going to try to get into them. I realized I can learn what I’m interested in just by walking into a bookstore.