When I was younger, I used to hide in the toilet in order to skip Physical Training class. Not only did I lack the desire to participate in any kind of sports, but I also didn't have the reflexes and hand-eye coordination needed to perform well. The struggles are painfully real. If you're a non-athlete, you can relate to almost all of them.

THE VERY THOUGHT OF SPORTS GIVES YOU A HEADACHE

Sleeping is the only enjoyable physical activity. Period.

BEING JUDGED BY THE STAR ATHLETES

Every school team has people who are a little too intense about sports. Not only will they crumble your walls of self-confidence with their aptitude but will also complain about how you would have done better if you really tried, even if you have been putting your heart and soul in it. But it's not your fault that you have slow reaction time, right? The solution: get bitten by a radioactive spider.

COMING LAST IN SPORTS COMPETITIONS

This is the kind of humiliation I received in every sports competition I have ever participated in. Not to mention tripping myself in the middle of a race and chafing my skin. Even if I managed to outrun some of the runners, I would eventually get pushed over by someone. Getting hurt is only commonplace. At this hopeless moment, all you think of is, "Welcome to Loserville. Population: 1. Me." 

DEALING WITH CRAMPS

An hour into soccer and you'll already feel your muscles failing. And then you will feel dependant on paracetamol for the rest of the day.

ALWAYS GETTING HIT BY THE BALL

Unathletic people mostly get the job that require the least physical effort and that is why we almost always get to be the goalkeeper in a soccer match. We keep imagining the ball coming towards us with the speed of light, and it always seems to target our face. Not to mention our friends having a good laugh out of our painful and awkward situation. The only fun is playing with a team where all the members are equally bad as us. Only then do we feel better about ourselves.

EXPLAINING THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ACTIVE AND ATHLETIC

Yes, we are horrible at hitting the ball with our bat and always miss the catches. However, that doesn't mean we are couch potatoes who sit at home all the time and binge-watch TV serials. Most of us do exercise, whether by working out at the gym or walking to the supermarket, since almost everyone nowadays is obsessed with staying in shape. Being bad in sports doesn't mean we're inactive as well.

Being unathletic isn't a big deal at all. There were times when I would stress about not being good enough like my athletic counterparts, but then you always find out that you have other passions. And sport just isn't one of them.

Zarin Rayhana is a self-aggrandizing ambivert who ponders over philosophical epiphanies during rainy evenings and waits for her crush to jump straight out of her favourite novel. Treat her with novel suggestions at [email protected]