CAMBRIDGE, Mass. - The 2023 Senior Perspectives is the 18th in a series of annual collections. Senior captains and representatives of teams at Harvard have been invited to contribute viewpoints based on personal experience from both their senior seasons and full varsity careers at Harvard.
--
Dillon Murphy
Hometown: Stroudsburg, Pa.
Sport: Wrestling
Concentration: Economics
House: Lowell
I stepped onto Harvard's campus as a first year with very little life experience and no idea of what was to come. I struggled to find myself in this place early on, yet through all the changes, the triumphs, and the failures, there was always one constant: wrestling. I've been wrestling for almost fifteen years, including the four most challenging years of my athletic life here at Harvard. It is strange to think that my time in the sport as a competitor is finally over, and that for the first time, the next phase in my life won't be accompanied by the comforting familiarity of lacing up my wrestling shoes. Not only am I preparing to graduate and take a step into the real world, but also I am stepping away from the sport I love and the people around me who have made this journey so special.
Or so I thought.
In the weeks since the end of wrestling season in the middle of March 2023, I have reflected extensively on what has truly defined my time here. It became clear to me that although wrestling may be over, the skills and relationships that I have formed during my time as a Harvard wrestler will stay with me far beyond the wrestling mat. I continuously came back to a saying that my head coach, Jay Weiss, preached over and over again, "We're training for something much bigger than this game. I want you to be great ten years from now." Although I always thought I understood what he meant, it has only become truly apparent to me now that I am on the other side of my athletic career. My time as a Harvard wrestler has given me the tools I need to excel in whatever lies ahead for me. Over the last four years, I have learned the value in being committed to a craft that can never be truly perfected through meticulous mental and physical preparation. I have realized the value in relying on those around me to help pick me up and the value in reciprocating that support for others to help them realize their own aspirations. Investing in relationships, working tirelessly to achieve a goal, relying on others, and leading by example through one's character - these are the lessons I will take with me for the rest of my life. I am confident that my time as a Harvard wrestler has cultivated my character and prepared me for whatever hardships life may throw my way.
In the weeks to come, I will accept my diploma and move onto a new stage in my life, one that does not involve carefully tracked meals, early morning lifts, grueling workouts, physical therapy for surgically repaired ligaments, and sleepless nights trying to reconcile devastating defeats. I will not be surrounded by my teammates and coaches for every setback I encounter or share in the collective celebration of upsetting an Ivy League rival. I will not be walking into Coach Weiss's office before practice to tell jokes or to ask his advice on something I have been struggling with. I will not be lacing up my wrestling shoes and finding refuge in the wrestling room after a stressful day of final exams.
However, I will not be walking away from this sport or the people who I have had by my side the whole way. I will always be a Harvard wrestler, both in name and in character: it is an inseparable piece of who I am. The lessons I have learned during my time as a Harvard wrestler will undoubtedly stay with me for years to come. I am incredibly grateful to Coach Weiss, the rest of the coaching staff, and my teammates who have become my family for their unwavering support and for granting me the greatest honor of my life.
J.P. O'Connor, 157-pound national champion and Harvard Wrestling Class of 2010 was once asked to recount his embrace with Coach Weiss seconds after capturing the program's third national championship. After offering his congratulations, Coach Weiss said "Don't let this be the greatest thing you ever do." Although I was never a national champion and fell short in my pursuit of athletic excellence repeatedly during my time at Harvard, I am confident that I will not be defined by what I did during my time here, but rather by the character of a Harvard wrestler that will stay with me for the rest of my life.
0 Comments