The sport of softball has always been laughed at by some, hated by others, and loved by me. I never imagined my life without the sport of softball, and now that it is — I am thankful for every single bruise, tear, laughs, friends and memories that it gave me.

Here's eleven reasons why I am thankful that I played softball:

1. I found a nickname that stuck with me for life.

If you didn't have a nickname after playing softball for years, then you must have been on the wrong team all along. I can't even remember the last time I was called my real name, and sometimes I forget what the heck my name was before I started playing softball.

2. I will never forget the feeling of winning a tournament.

The feeling that you get when you receive your first place trophy after waking up at five in the morning, driving two hours, sweating, getting bruises, hitting home-runs, and simply working your butt off ALL day was indescribable. It was like a sense of pride, relief, and happiness came over your body at once. You had won something fair and square, hopefully, by working hard at it ALL day. There is simply no feeling that could ever replace that feeling of accomplishment.

3. Bubblegum and sunflower seeds became a second way of life.

Before I started softball, I don't think you would ever catch me eating a sunflower seed in my mouth. Knowing how to fit 20 seeds in your mouth and still managing to not swallow the outer shell of the seed was not known as an accomplishment in softball — it was the softball way of life.

Shoutout to my mom for buying me endless buckets of Double-Bubble Gum and Barbecue sunflower seeds, you rock!

4. The buckets of food that the "cool moms" brought.

HUGE shoutout to the mom's who brought the most fattening, disgusting, but most delicious snacks there ever were. Let's face it, all of the players only got up in the morning to go to the tournaments because we got to have the tastiest, mouth-watering cookie and brownie bites, chips, and candy bars in between games.

5. It taught me how to be tough.

Coming home with bruises and strawberry patches all over our legs after every game/practice was such a natural occurrence that we thought it was our new skin tone. After being hit so many times by a softball, your legs become numb and the sting of a fast-pitch softball was nonexistent.

6. Having the privilege of being coached by the best coaches there ever were.

Having good coaches only makes playing softball all the better. Having THE BEST coaches makes all of the tears, bruises, practices, and tournament even more worth it. If you had the privilege to be coached by amazing coaches like mine, hug them tight and thank them so many times. My coaches are my second set of parents and I wouldn't have it any other way.

7. It taught me how to work as a team.

The truest statement I ever heard was "you succeed as a team, you lose as a team." A loss was everybody's loss, not just yours. A win was everybody's win, not just yours. Picking each other up, supporting each other, and screaming at the top of my lungs for another teammate is the reason we won. Without each other, we would have never won as many trophies as we did.

8. It gave me a reason to travel.

Whether it be the best place you played a tournament at like Universal Studios in Orlando or the worst place such as next to a prison, it was still a journey that I will always remember. Softball lead me to many places I never dreamt of going; however, I am glad I did because I got to do with my 12 closest buddies.

9. I had more of a commitment with my newest bat than my boyfriend.

Getting a new bat was like Christmas in the middle of the summer. Hitting that first ball with your shiny, new bat was an irreplaceable feeling. It was so smooth and felt like you would probably never hit a ball that felt like that ever again. I took care of this object as if it my life was on the line for it.

10. The countless nights of playing "Man Hunt" in random hotels.

Other hotel visitors probably filed more noise complains than we can count. You have 12 girls stuck in a hotel........ what else are you going to do? Maybe this was just my team, but the parents sit in the lobby, drink the night away, and we are left to ourselves. So what do you do? You play "Man Hunt." Best decision, ever.

11. I am left with mountains of memories and life-long friends.

I don't think one practice or tournament went by without my team laughing and creating a memory. My team was definitely one of a kind, but that is what made it special. We could always count on someone to do something stupid and make all of us laugh. To make it the count, I had the privilege of having the best set of coaches throughout my travel softball years. They saw us fail, succeed, cry and laugh. They continuously supported us and never gave up on us.

To sum it up, thank you. Softball created a second family for me.