Sports has been part of my life as far back as I can remember. If I wasn't playing myself I was watching my brother play. I thoroughly enjoyed attending and watching his games at a young age. My mom always kept the score book for whatever sport he was participating. When I was about 8 years old I would regularly keep the baseball scorebook for my brother's team. I was probably more accurate than most parents on the team because I truly loved knowing the details of the game. And that is how my love for sports began. I started my competitive sports career at the age of 5 playing basketball and softball. My parents allowed me to join a travel team for basketball at the age of 7 and the age of 9 for softball. I loved playing softball and traveling to tournaments and meeting new friends. We lived just far enough outside of the highly competitive teams that I had to travel about an hour each way for practices. At the age of 9 I also started playing competitive volleyball. We soon discovered that Volleyball and Softball were about a 10 month commitment with games and practices overlapping. At a very early age I discovered time management skills and learned how to prioritize to get my school work completed while also giving my team a 100% effort. This was very hard, but my parents were always there to support me. When I was 14 I realized that I could no longer play volleyball and softball as their season overlapped as a high school sport as well as the spring and summer season. So, I made the very tough decision to throw in the towel for softball. My parents were very surprised with my decision as I was a very good softball player, but the sport I loved was volleyball. My freshman season of high school I soon earned a starting position on the Varsity team with a highly talented team. As a sophomore I was moved to the primary Outside Hitter position were I remained for 3 seasons. Our team was very successful earning 2nd and 3rd place at State my Junior and Senior seasons. I also was able to capture our high school record for Career Kills. It was my goal from the day I set foot on that high school court that I wanted to achieve. Sports, especially Volleyball, has shaped my career goals in many ways. First, I wanted to continue to be able to play Volleyball at the collegiate level, but I also wanted to be able to earn a degree in the health industry. Pursing a degree in the medical field can be very difficult while playing a college sport, but I also feel that due to being active in so many sports I have learned ways to navigate and development goals personally that will flow over to my professional growth. My participation in sports has helped me build leadership skills, time management skills and how to handle various situations. It also helps me stay fit and manage stress and focus on what is important. As I stated above, sports has been my life for many years. I don't see that slowing down any and plan to coach club volleyball in the near future to be able to give back to young children as they develop.

I am passionate about Volleyball for many reasons. Obviously it gives me joy to play; I wouldn’t play the game of volleyball if I thought it was boring or if it didn’t make me happy. But within that reason are multiple reasons. Volleyball is enjoyable because I get to play it with some of my best friends. I have gotten to make these friendships throughout my many years of playing. Most of my greatest friendships have been made through volleyball. Volleyball has taught me to never give up. Constantly my team will get down by many points, but we seem to always make big comebacks. It is so rewarding when this happens. When doing so it gives me the assurance that all the long and hard practices have paid off. I just love seeing all the progress I personally make and my team make. Volleyball plays an important role in my life because it has shaped me to who I am today. I think volleyball has shown me how to be a better teammate and better friend. You have to be able to trust your teammates, and be there for them as well. It is big about communication and team building. You have to be loyal to them and find ways to build each other up and not tear them down. Volleyball has taught me so much about myself. When I was younger I would get really frustrated with myself when I wasn’t playing my best. I would shut down on the court, and not be a good teammate. I would show my emotions on my face and not talk to anyone. I have now realized that those situations can relate to real life. When something doesn’t go your way you have to let it go. Your mistake is in the past and you can’t do anything about it. You have to focus on what you can do for the future or what you can do on the next play. You can’t dwell on your mistakes, you must take that as an opportunity to do better next time. You must move on, and keep looking forward. Never look back in life, because you can’t change what has already been done. I constantly have to remind myself of this while playing. It has definitely helped. Focusing on a past play could only affect your next play. So don’t let that hold you back in life.

As I started my recruiting process for Volleyball my Mom shared a story with me. It shows how success can be defined differently for each person. She knew that the recruiting process was going to be mentally tough on me so sharing this story helped me learn what I wanted my success to be and not be discouraged by other's success around me. A few years ago my Mom volunteered to help with Special Olympics. A young boy named Billy was going to participate in the 50-yard dash. Billy had cerebral palsy so walking was difficult for him, and running was a true effort. As the race began Billy gave every ounce of effort he had. Soon the participants passed him putting Billy in last place. Billy finished the race with the biggest smile and true happiness that she had ever witnessed. It was not because he won, but because he tried and succeeded. Billy's success was finishing the race, not winning the race. As my Mom shared the story I realized that I needed to define my success and what goals I wanted to achieve or I would not have success, but failure. I am grateful to my Mom for sharing this story with me as it has helped me truly look inside myself and determine my goals in life and not compare to other people's success. The most important success in life is how I feel about myself and that is how I know I will be successful.