[dropcap]A[/dropcap]s everyone gets into back-to-school mode again, whether you have just finished from grade 8 and are starting high school, or have graduated from high school and are on your way to college or university, this is a time for new beginnings. However, you are not alone as you embark in new directions.

Everywhere in the sports world, some of the biggest paragons are going through similar dilemmas as you.

At the beginning of the NHL season this year, two big names from the Vancouver Canucks will be starting a new chapter in their respective careers. Roberto Luongo, whose family lives in Florida, was traded to the Florida Panthers near the end of last season. To some, the trade came as a shock, and to others it was understandable due to the heat he always received from the city’s media. Ryan Kesler, on the other hand, was excited to continue the new era of the Canucks under new management, but was traded to the Anaheim Ducks in the offseason. Being one of the team’s most important pieces for producing points and for defending, namely during the powerplay and the penalty kill, Ryan will inevitably need to be replaced by two or more players. The world of soccer has also seen athletes change their courses.

One of our fellow Muslim brothers, Nuri Sahin, who played previously for Liverpool, will be back again, with Borussia Dortmund in the Bundesliga, but for good this time, not on loan, as he was in the last season. Although him and his fellow Turkish players were unable to qualify for the World Cup this summer, Sahin looks forward to a strong start of the season, hopefully still fuelled from his DFL-Supercup win last year. These athletes welcomed change as an opportunity for new possibilities, not unlike how the Prophet and the Muslims of Madinah accepted a change in direction, theirs being more direct – the change of Qiblah from Jerusalem to Mecca. Likewise, you should learn to accept changes as your life takes you in new directions.

Whether you have just moved to a new school or neighbourhood, anxious to make new friends, or are starting a new part of your life away from your home, think of these spectacular athletes, who, while they are able to achieve what most cannot, are not exempt from the abrupt but healthy changes that occur in everyone’s lives.