Competing with Life is a deeply personal exploration of the dual pressures I face as a Division 1 track athlete and a university student living with dyslexia. This work reflects the constant mental, emotional, and physical toll of balancing two demanding identities — one rooted in high-performance sport, the other in academic struggle and perseverance.

Through this project, I confront the invisible labor of managing a learning disability in an academic environment that often misunderstands or overlooks neurodiversity, while simultaneously pushing my physical limits within the elite realm of collegiate athletics. The emotional extremes I experience — from drive and determination to burnout and self-doubt — form the core narrative of the work.

At the centre of the piece are 25 race bibs, each featuring emotionally charged text above and below the numbers. The number '“25” represents the year and age I am turning in 2025 and highlights some of my life lessons I have encountered and experienced to date. These phrases echo the internal dialogue triggered by external critiques from coaches, doctors, and professors — voices that often feed into cycles of self-doubt and self-criticism. The vibrant color palette used throughout the work references my dyslexic learning strategies — particularly my habit of color-coding and highlighting text to aid comprehension. This visual language serves both as a coping mechanism and a means of reclaiming control over how I process the world.

By intertwining these two aspects of my identity, Competing with Life reveals how strength and struggle coexist, and how vulnerability can be transformed into a form of resistance and expression. I Hope by sharing some of my own personal struggles can help other people who may feel isolated & lost - know they will never be truly alone. What might seem the end of the world at the time, can get better with the right help and support.

If you are a person struggling with their mental health in the NCAA please use -> 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline: Call 988 or Text 988

If you are a person struggling with their mental health from the UK please reach out too -> mind.org lifeline: 0300 102 1234

* Please take as much time as you need - but please don’t take your life *