My Lax stick = My Identity

To many people outside the east coast a lacrosse stick looks like a pole with a sort of netting attached to the top of it. I have had people ask me "what do you call that contraption?" or even "what do you catch in that net looking thing?" and many other comments that I think to myself they cant be serious? But, here in Maryland where everyone knows what a lacrosse stick is and knows me, knows that it is like my third arm. This lacrosse stick is in fact is much more than just an object to me, it identifies my life and me as an athlete.

Looking at a lacrosse stick and all of the different parts it takes to make one may not have a lot of significance to most people but for me, I see a lacrosse stick in a different light. The head is the most complex part of the stick which I see representing my life as a whole. On the head of the stick are the strings that are woven together and create the web in which to catch the ball. These stings represent different chapters in my life. Where a string may be turned or twisted represent obstacles that I have encountered and overcome. At the end of those stings, some are tied off and those represent the end of a chapter and where some strings are not tied is where there is room for me to grow. Then there is the most important and strongest part of the stick, the shaft which I see representing my family. They are my rock and the most solid part in my life, without them I wouldn’t be me. I understand that this may be a stretch for most people to think in this manner but to me it makes perfect sense and this is why my lacrosse stick is such a part of my identity.

A lacrosse stick to other lacrosse players out there has many different meanings but however one may view their stick, the sport of lacrosse is a way of life for us laxers (as we like to call ourselves). Springtime for laxers is our favorite time of year, it is a time when the games start and fans of all ages come out to support one another. The lacrosse stick is a cultural symbol that has found its way onto many things such as shorts, shirts, sweatshirts, sweatpants, hats, necklaces, and even one’s body. Wearing or marking one’s things or even themselves with a lacrosse stick shows how much lacrosse is a part of our lives. And how symbolic the lacrosse stick really is.

When on the field with my stick it has the power to make me stand out and achieve things that most objects cannot do. I wonder if years from now, when people are looking through my things and find my lacrosse stick with the number 23 on it if they will know how that artifact they are holding in fact tells a much deeper story and the power that it gave me, rather than it just being a silly stick with a “net looking things attached to the top of it?”