Posted on March 15, 2016 by Hassan Smith
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Meet Arielle Winfield. Arielle is just your average student-athlete at the University of Pennsylvania. As a junior she has been a member of both the school’s volleyball and track team. But due to numerous injuries, her athletics career came to an abrupt end.
A series of concussions during the summer of her sophomore year prohibited her from playing competitive sports ever again. When asked about how well she played during her couple of years at Penn, she simply responded, “Average” as if she was unaffected by her minor role on both the volleyball and track teams.
At first glance, you see a strong woman who is easily able to venture into her next journey in life, but on the inside she suffers. Her inability to leave a profound mark on Penn Athletics drives her crazy because she knows that being average in her family is unacceptable, especially when her father is Major League Baseball’s Hall of Fame inductee, Dave Winfield.
Although she is not quite known for her production on the volleyball court nor the track, she has been noted by her teammates and peers as the person to go to for guidance. Whether someone has failed an exam or just experienced a terrible breakup, she is there to give valuable advice.
In order to give her an advantage over her competitors, she was taught that emotion is a sign of weakness. As a result, she bottles all of her feelings inside of her letting them boil like water in a kettle.
Since she is unable to express her true emotions, she feels alone in the world. When the pain becomes unbearable she takes a long walk to clear her mind.
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Photography , Text and Videotaped interview with Arielle Winfield by Hassan Smith, Copyright 2016.
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About The Author: Hassan Smith is a freshman enrolled in the College of the University of Pennsylvania. Hassan is also a defensive back on the Upenn football team. He hails from Los Angeles, California. Class of 2019.
