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“Expect the Unexpected” Is the Worst Advice In History
I broke my collar bone and learned why expectations don’t work.
“How bad is it?” I asked my physical education teacher.
Silence. Then, a grimace.
My heart sank.
Shit, I thought to myself, have I just broken my first bone? No, I’ve played rugby and football for as long as I can remember. I’m an invincible teenager. Well, as it turns out, I was just a skinny one.
My collar bone broke, and my mind was left to pick up the pieces.
Since I was five years old, I’d played football (not soccer, football). So when the time came for me to play rugby, I was scared. Teachers saw a tall, quick kid and thrust me into the team. I hated the physicality of it all. The ball felt unnatural in my hands. It belonged at my feet.
Still, I managed seven years of school without a broken bone. Sure, I had my face smashed in by two forearms flying at full speed, and an eight-week-long knee graze, but nothing as jarring.
I was 17, playing full-back (the last line of defense). The opposing team’s winger broke through our defense, summoning me to take action. I sprinted across the pitch.
Boom.
