Sleeping Cost Me My Golf Scholarship

When I was around 7 years old, my mother worked long shifts to support us. In turn, my grandmother ended up taking care of me during the summer when school was out so that my mother didn’t have to pay for a babysitter.

Even with this, my grandparents needed a break and didn’t want us doing anything all summer, so they put me and my siblings into various sports — swimming, soccer, band, cheerleading, etc. My grandmother made us try a little bit of everything.

Although, personally, I only did about 3 of those on the list until I found the sport that made me happy. That sport was golf.

Awakening a passion for golf

I know what you’re thinking: "Golf? That’s not a real sport." Or something along those lines. But it is an actual sport (or it was my sport) and it was a sport that I took a liking to.

I played almost every day at PLCCA, a golf summer camp for disadvantaged minorities. While there were technically 2 sessions, I was ambitious in playing, so I stayed for both.

From 8 AM to 3 PM, I was at the golf course. We practiced on the driving range, then switched to chipping or putting. As a kid, this wasn’t tiring to me, and I loved being at golf practice all day.

I was offered scholarships from schools across the country

In 2014, I graduated from middle school. I was accepted into Proviso Mathematics & Science Academy for my academic skills. I didn’t give up golf, though since our school was all academic, I went to play golf for my high school’s sister school, Proviso East. There, I played golf with my mother’s old chemistry teacher, who would tell us puns while we hit golf balls on the football field behind the school.

While in high school, playing golf after school somewhat affected my grades. I spent my focus on golf and rushed to catch up on work on the bus or before school started. But it didn’t hinder me too much, as I was able to get golf scholarships from a multitude of colleges across the country.

Trouble adhering to my coach's practice schedule

I decided to get my bachelor's degree at Missouri Valley College under a golf scholarship. Ironically, one of my roommates ended up being an insomniac. At the beginning of the year, the golf team felt like a second family like my golf team in high school; but as the semester went on, my roommate and I began to fight with our coach over practices.

Our golf coach decided to make the team do weight practice at 5 AM a few weeks into freshman year. I voiced my displeasure over doing anything at 5 AM, since it was already hard for me to get up at 8 AM for class. Weights being at 5 AM, coupled with 8 AM or 12 PM work, was too much for me, and by sophomore year I quit the golf team and switched my scholarship to a debate scholarship.

The impact of undiagnosed idiopathic hypersomnia

Looking back now, after being diagnosed with idiopathic hypersomnia, I realize that my condition limited me from being able to play my favorite sport competitively. If I had been diagnosed while I was on the team, then I could have gotten accommodations and had my schedule adapted.

Since 2019, I haven’t golfed due to the trauma of dealing with my college, but one day I hope to find pleasure from golfing like I did before I went to college.