While being healthy and having an able body is often taken for granted, I feel blessed to have a deep appreciation for it. At age 5, I was diagnosed with a rare disease called Cyclic Vomiting Syndrome. Unfortunately, this illness is exactly what it sounds like. The episodes were recurring and debilitating. When episodes hit (usually in the early hours of the morning), I would wake up and puke for roughly 2 to 10 hours. Sometimes I would be able to go about my daily life afterwards, but my worst episodes ended in trips to the ER, conscious comas, or double headers (having episodes multiple days in a row). The most common result of an episode was staying home and recovering; therefore, missing out on many activities such as school, sports, church, and just the joys of being a kid. The cycle of the episode, the recovery, catching up in school just to be sick again and start over filled a lot of my life until about age 12. I feel incredibly blessed to be able to share that my last episode was in January of 2021. While battling this illness was hard and I never want to experience it again, I can confidently say it turned out to be one of the best things that ever happened to me. I learned so many life lessons in resiliency, stamina, and gratitude; lessons that have followed me into my sport. I gained a unique perspective on life and I will never take my health or my ability to play beach volleyball for granted. I cannot even begin to express my gratitude towards God for not just freeing me from the illness, but also giving me the ability to play my sport at the collegiate level. Playing beach volleyball in college is my way of reclaiming some of those years lost to the illness. I absolutely love the sports community and environment. I love having something to work towards and challenge myself both physically and mentally. I love being a part of a team. Being a teammate is truly one of the greatest privileges. I find so much joy and fulfillment in serving my teammates, loving them, pushing them to be the best they can be, and watching them succeed. I love beach volleyball more than I can explain, and these are some of the joys that I will treasure forever. Playing sports, especially at a high level, is not something that I was always able to do, and now that I can, I want to take advantage of every second of it. This is why I have chosen to play beach volleyball in college. My plan for the future is to pursue a career as a physical therapist. At Berry, I will study exercise science to prepare me for physical therapy school. A healthy human body is amazing! I am fascinated by how it moves and what it can accomplish. I also deeply relate to the experience of being sidelined in life when your body is not functioning like it should. The human body’s ability to heal itself is so intriguing to me and being involved in the process to improve and expedite another's healing through physical therapy is where I want to be. I would love nothing more than to serve others in this way. Life is too short for any of us to miss out. It is as Benjamin Franklin said: “Do not squander time, for that’s the stuff life is made of.” Thank you for your consideration of my application and for your support of beach volleyball athletes.