Throughout my athletic career, there is way too many people I can think of that have helped me. My dad for helping through every step of the recruiting prosses, my mom for talking during the times I didn't believe in myself, and the many coaches that have taught me so many seasons. But, the one person that helped me through a dark time was the agility coach John Walker. John was a quarterback at USC and played in the NFL for a couple of years. When I was a sophomore in High School, I tore my ACL playing a club volleyball tournament. I first hurt my knee, and the doctors told me it was likely just bone bruising and that I would only be out for a few weeks. So, when I got the news that I would be out for nine months, it broke me. I gave up on my dream of playing volleyball in college because I believed no college would want a player who came back for her senior year and missed a huge part of the recruiting process. Once I started moving again, my parents thought it would be good to start looking for an agility trainer to get my strength back to what it was before. We came across John Walker's page, and we told him what I was going through, and he said he would go out of retirement to help me out. John also went through an ACL tear during his college years. I'm so behind and grateful that he was able to work with me. He helped me get through the hardest mental challenges this injury goes through. To add on, he was always willing to push me. Once I started to move like myself again, he had me combined with his little girls because he trains them for their sports. At the time, it seemed silly because I was a junior in high school training with 9-12-year-olds. I didn't know I needed it at the time, but those little kids pushed me harder and harder every day. Another incident was when I was really hard on myself the day before, and when I went to work out with John, he played me the song The Climb by Miley Cyrus. He told me to listen to the lyrics, and my mindset completely changed when I did. My attitude changed from being unable to go back and do anything to getting past this obstacle, and it will make me ten times stronger than I was before. I can proudly say that I didn't end up giving up on my goal, and this fall, I'll be playing volleyball at Southern Virginia University. This journey has impacted my educational purposes by showing me that there is more to life than sports. On the other hand, sports are a huge part of my life, but they can't be my entire life.

There is no way I have enough time to explain how much sports have impacted my life, so I'll try to sum it up as much as possible. Sports were a part of my life before I was even born. My parents met, playing on an intermedial volleyball team at Utah State University. My parents have signed me to play flag football, softball, volleyball, lacrosse, basketball, and soccer. Once I got older, tho, I found my true passion in volleyball and basketball. My high school experience has been such a roller coaster. I had many coaches who taught me lessons back when I was in 12u that I still apply to my life today. Learning in the classroom has always been hard for me because my brain moves so fast or my body has to be moving, and with sports, I have been able to get the learning or mental lessons and the physical. Not only has sports taught me lessons that I couldn't learn in a classroom, but I have met some of my closest friends through sports. Of course, our relationship started with only talking about the sport we played together, but the more I talked to them and hung out, the more I knew that they would be the people I wanted to keep in my life. So many people get burnt out from sports fast because they overwork their bodies or are mentally drained, but I think I have been able to stay in sports for so long because I have been able to play different sports. When I was burnt out from one of the sports, I would take a break and play another for a while; then, I would come back ready to work. On the other hand, I had a lot higher risk of injury, which is what ended up happening. I tore my ACL in my sophomore year of high school at a club volleyball tournament. I was being away from playing the sports I loved made me realize I wanted to pursue a sports-related degree. Even when I was injured, just being around and helping my coaches run their programs brought me happiness. It will never be the same happiness you can get from playing on the court. During college, I would like to major in sports management and minor in coaching. Hopefully, this will help me become a college recruiter and coach on the side. When I was getting recruited for college and making films constantly, I realized that I loved watching films and seeing what I had to correct and improve.

I have been playing sports my entire life and one of them that has impacted me the most have been basketball and lacrosse. I haven't played lacrosse for too long because my friends talked me into it over the summer, but this sport has made me come out of my shell as a leader. Many of my coaches have told me that I could be a great leader by acting at practices and being supportive, but I can also hold athletes accountable. This is the year I was named captain of my basketball team, and at my high school, they started a leadership council for the captains at my school. Once a month, the leaders of each sport get together to talk about how our teams are doing, and our Athletic director gives us tips and tricks on being a leader. Between being a captain and attending the meeting, I learned many different ways to reach out to my teammates, communicate with the coach, how to be a student-athlete, and put in the hard work because the lower classmen are looking up to you, and they will copy what you are doing. Having basketball season first and becoming a leader made it easier to transfer that onto the field. I'm one of the main defenders on my lacrosse team and take the draw. Assuming interest is one of the most important parts of the game because whoever has the most positions at the end of the game wins. Another thing that I'm good at is communicating with the team; we have a ton of new players on our team being able to push them to get out of their comfort zone is going to be a struggle. What is a good team without some problems? Once a team gets over the obstacles, you become a family. Every family/ teams have its problems. It depends on whether the unit will come over or let that be the problem the whole season. I'm very lucky with my team because we are all really close and my coach knows exactly what we need to work on, especially since we are one of the most experienced teams. Our goal this year is to be league champions and division 3 champions in CIF. Now, that is a really big goal, so we are all willing to put in the work and make this season one of the best!

Over the years, I have learned when certain problems happen, you have to let them go and play out. Some problems were just not meant to be solved. On the other hand, there are some problems you can't let sit aside. My problem was that I never was the best at school. In 7th grade, I was diagnosed with dyslexia and an audio-processing disorder. From a young age, my parents knew I was behind in school, and we did everything we could to keep up with my peers. My mom would summer school me by working on my spelling and reading every morning. During elementary school, I knew I was behind everyone else's reading level and felt like I was being left in the dust. Once I was finally tested and someone explained how my brain worked, I could go to therapy and learn how to control my brain. It wasn't always the easiest, and I'm still working on it to this day, but I'm better at asking for help when I need it, and I don't feel left behind anymore. Instead, I think ahead of most of my classes, and I know I still have struggles, but I'm willing to take them head-on. Many students are just like me. They are probably sitting in their classes, becoming frustrated at themselves because they don't know why they are so behind. If I had the money and the resources, I would have all the kids that have lower test scores, I would have them tested for a learning disability, and I would hire therapists to get the help that they need to be successful later on in life. Unfortunately, there aren't many students that are as lucky as I was to get help, so I would make it assessable for them. During school, I felt no teachers wanted to help me because I wasn't one of those kids who would answer every question. I think the school system needs to take more time with students behind so that they have the urge to keep on learning. The desire to learn, especially with a disability, dwindles quickly, but if they take their time and ask for help, they are most likely to be more successful. Also, having a disability isn't bad; it just means we think a little bit differently. In the things we lack, the opposite is what we thrive in.

I have to overcome many hardships, but the one that unexpectedly changed my life was losing someone I love. In seventh grade, one of my best friends decided to call it quits on her pain and committed suicide; we never had much of life ahead of us. Unfortunately, no one knew she was suffering so badly that she decided to end her life short. We grew up together on the softball field and in the classroom. I also knew we had a special friendship because we were the only two girls in our elementary school willing to compete with the boys in sports activities. For months I had questions like "why would you let this happen? How did I not see the signs? How much did she suffer?" running through my mind. I also blamed myself for what happened. I tried everything I could to get my mind out of things, but nothing worked. My coaches were very understanding, but sports weren't the same without her. Everywhere I turned, a memory would pop into my mind. A motto that people kept on saying was that time heals things, but the truth is that you never fully recover. Instead, you start doing the thing you know would make them proud. I wear her number in softball and pray to her to give me strength before each game. I wear her number with pride, knowing I put everything on the court for her. Suicide still isn't an easy topic for me to talk about. I've also had a grandmother pass away from suicide too. She was a very fun and loving person. Her suffering was a little more noticeable than my friends. She slowly stopped laughing at the joke my dad would make. She loved how goofy my dad acted, and he still tried when she was struggling, but her facial expression wouldn't change. Also, she lost motivation in everything she enjoyed doing. I was little when my grandma passed away, and my parents would always tell me that she passed away because she was sick, but they never said what kind of sickness. When my parents told me the real way my grandma passed away, I was a little mad about why they would keep it from me, but I was four when she passed away, and they didn't want my little kid's mind to know the dark side of emotions. Thankfully, these experiences taught me to pick up on certain keys in people's attitudes and body language. I try to reach out to as many people as possible because you never know what people think or feel. Emotions are a very important part of the human race, and if we care for ourselves and others mentally, we will be a happier society. I've become closer with my friends now because I value our time together more than the little disagreements or arguments. Additionally, I'm more open to the people around me and what to help them when I see them struggling or hurting.