Sydney O'Dell '17 Recruiting Profile

Moving from place to place is something I’ve been accustomed to doing. From moving, I’ve learned how to cope well with change and transitions. My first move, and probably the move that defined who I am, was from New Jersey to Maryland. I’ve always thought of myself as a city-girl up until the point of my move. I was 9 years old, meaning I was still developing my traits. I used to believe that where you grow up exemplifies who you become. I went from the fast-paced urban lifestyle to the sleepy and quiet, borderline-rural area of Salisbury, Maryland.
Maryland is when I thought that I was becoming characterized. The transition from private school to private school was pretty easy; the whole class size was 13 other students, so I got to know everybody in a short amount of time.
I was past the age of not being able to make my own decisions, and for the most part, my parents gave me freedom and supported my decisions. They let me participate in any sport or activity that I wanted to. From that, I chose to ride horses. Riding was and has always been an outlet for me. It was something that I could look forward to at the end of a long day. I continued riding for the next five years I was living in Salisbury. I was becoming an accomplished rider; seeing ribbons lying around my house from national level shows was commonplace. These few years were held some of the most quality character-defining times, whether it be my skills in the ring or my sportsmanship inside the barn.     My most recent move changed a lot of this. I moved from Salisbury to Manlius the summer before my freshman year. This was my first year in a public school system. The tables had turned in such a way that I was learning at least 15 new names and faces every day for the first few months of my existence and a student in the public school system, as opposed to getting to know the 13 kids in my grade over the course of my four years in parochial school. My humble class of 13 turned into a class of 400 – something that definitely took some getting used to.
Adjusting from a private school to the populous school of Fayetteville Manlius was not hard at all. I fit in pretty quickly since there was such a variety of friend groups for me to choose from. I think the most monumental part of me moving was switching riding barns. Equestrians are different than normal people. It takes a while to go from one barn to another and to get situated to a new riding instructor’s way of teaching.
Moving and transitioning so many times had enabled me to adapt to different situations, but nothing could’ve prepared me for the identity crisis I had.  I quit riding to focus more on running. Riding shaped my lifestyle and who I was as a person, but something told me that this was the right decision. I suddenly had so much more free time; gone are the days of homework being done at ungodly hours, gone are the countless nights I’ve had to cancel plans because I was in charge of barn chores, gone are the days that I used to love.
I began running when I was a freshman. I never took it too seriously - I was the last girl to cross the finish line up until the indoor season of my sophomore year. I hated the feeling of not being good. I wasn’t used to losing.
The following year I decided to try and apply myself. It wasn’t easy; between the  myriads of hours, gallons of blood and tears, and the legions of physical therapy, I improved. I never had enjoyed the thought of running, but there’s something about finishing with pride, your head held high, and the numbness in your legs that shows what hard work does. That same year I did it. I became the section and league champion to eventually go onto states to compete in the five-event pentathlon.
I had never considered myself a runner, nor am I in love with the sport. The reason why I chose to run was because I enjoy being challenged. Starting from the bottom and working your way up is something nobody can teach you to do, and learning how to make it is a valuable life lesson.

Stereotypes isn’t something that influence you. If improvement is shown but goes outside the standard norms, strive to show others that it’s possible. Thinking about my past, I find stereotypes only apply as far as you take them. I went from a Jersey Girl to a country chick, and from there I decided to be a New Yorker. I guess I hadn’t experienced enough to truly define myself as one activity or another, or where I’ve been to determine who I’ve become.