A Letter to My Younger Self
Dear Christian,
Buckle up, buddy. These next five years are going to set you on a path different than anything you could have possibly imagined. You wanted to leave the shallow end of the pool, well you are about to be thrown into the ocean. You will find your limits, you will bleed, cry, and sweat…a lot. You will be challenged, but that’s what you always wanted isn’t it? Army wrestling will afford you the opportunity to experience more than you ever imagined. You will wrestle in Carver-Hawkeye Arena, under the lights of Rec-Hall. You will get to travel to Lehigh, Cornell, Bucknell, Iowa State, Rutgers, Pitt, and countless other places around the country. You will meet your best friends, wrestle with All-Americans, and represent something bigger than yourself.
Days crawl by, years go fast. At West Point, time does not obey the laws of physics. At first, it will feel as though you will never leave that place. Every day feels like three. Some days it will feel as though you will never survive practice. Some days it will feel as though you cannot continue, but you will. Then after an unthinkable amount of work, you will lift your head up and realize that years have gone by and time actually does move forward. After a while, the monstrous amount of work, wrestling, running, lifting, and summers spent at Buckner seem small, and things get easier.
I know your fears. I know that you are afraid of being the worst wrestler on the team. Take it from someone that cares deeply about you, once you let go of these fears, learn to trust yourself, and place faith in your coaches and teammates… you will grow as a wrestler and as a leader.
The only way to get over these fears is to do the work. You will only gain confidence through hundreds of hours of preparation.
You will realize that the way you wrestle and compete every day in that practice room is an expression of your true character.
Keep putting yourself in the fire. The only way to get what you want is to go after it yourself. You love to give other people credit, but I need you to understand this fact. The greatest lesson you will ever learn will be self-taught. If you truly want something, you will go get it. NOTHING can stop you. Your passion is your greatest strength and when you pool your passion with consistency and resourcefulness, miracles happen. People will start to listen to the things you have to say. Hardened men will gravitate to you. Fear will be replaced with courage.
The greatest lesson you will ever learn will be self-taught. If you truly want something, you will go get it. NOTHING can stop you. Your passion is your greatest strength and when you pool your passion with consistency and resourcefulness, miracles happen.
Take what you do seriously but never take yourself seriously. Never underestimate the impact that you can have on your teammates. Over the next five years, you will build relationships stronger than any you have had before.
The energy that you bring, or don’t bring, to the room will have tangible effects on the team’s performance over the seasons to come. Some of the most impactful moments of your wrestling career will happen in the solitude of the dark, sweaty wrestling room where you are suffering alongside your brothers.
Finally, take time to stop and smell the roses. When faced with a choice between studying and spending time with your teammates, choose your teammates. You will figure out the school part, but you can never spend too much time with your team… they are your family. Anyway, I’ll be watching and rooting for you. I can’t wait to see how you take this opportunity and run with it.
-Christian Hunt
Army Wrestling, Class of 2023