There are two minutes left in the game, the crowd is screaming behind you thinking it is just another normal game and you will go home and carry on with the next day. Then, when you least expect it.

Wham! A hit to the head.

Something that you would have never thought was going to happen that day, ends up changing your life forever. At first, you think it is just an ordinary hit to the head and keep playing, but the constant headache never goes away.

As an athlete. I have experienced a concussion before and I have never been the same since. Every doctor has a different treatment for a concussion. Some say to stay out of light. Some say to be in the light. Some say to do no physical activity. Some say to exercise daily. Some say to not do any brain activity. Some say to exercise the brain.

But there is no right answer.

There are 19,400,000 results on google that state how long it takes for a concussion to heal. According to healthline, there is no real treatment for a concussion. It is only a matter of time, and for every additional concussion. That time is only added.

Memory loss, dizziness, headache, light sensitivity, sound sensitivity. These are the stereotypical symptoms of a concussion. As an athlete. When I experienced a concussion I had full memory. I knew exactly where I was, I knew exactly what I was doing, I knew exactly what happened. But I still returned to play.

Every company claims that their helmet is the best for concussion prevention. But reality. A piece of plastic or metal with foam on the inside will only cushion the impact. The whiplash that causes the damage to the brain is still in play.

Every coach is required to go through the concussion protocol and special training. But 75% of athletes that experience headaches, return to play.

Something needs to be done about this because a student’s brain has still not fully developed and when impacted can face long-term damage. Studies have proven that concussions can lead to Alzheimer's. When I received my concussion in lacrosse, I dropped the sport because I know that my academics are more important than the sport to me.

Jovan Belcher, and Chris Benoit, and Dave Duerson, and Terry Long have all experienced a concussion and suffered from CTE (a serious brain disease) that turns people from a very friendly person into a crazy animal. These people have become severely depressed and have killed family members and either themselves.

Besides a helmet, the only natural protection the brain has from injury is your cerebrospinal fluid which helps prevent your brain from smashing into your skull when your head moves and is jerked around. The cerebrospinal fluid is a water-like liquid which is not very protective so hits to the head can cause serious damage fairly easily. Leaving the brain extremely vulnerable

The brain is the most vital part of your body. It controls the simplest things such as breathing and heartbeat to the most complex things such as planning and judging. When damaged it does not just affect the brain but it could affect parts of the body. Some people face paralysis from concussions and sometimes even death. Yet we have barely made improvements to prevent this.