To the eight girls on the Saint Francis University Bowling team,

We met four months ago... and ever since then you guys have been my rock without even knowing it. I moved almost five hours away from home to become a member of the Flash family, and it is worth every minute away from home.

Yes, I have been on teams in the past, but nothing compared to you guys. We call each other family, because well.. we are. Almost all of us only see our actual family during break or tournaments if they are close enough.

When I stepped onto campus August 19th I had only talked to the four freshman (technically one was not a freshman... but she wasn't a sophomore either, she was a transfer). I depended on those four girls for everything. I went to orientation things with them, the dining hall, and hung out with them on the weekends. They quickly became my good friends, until I met the other four girls on campus.

As the semester started, my mental health started to decrease from all the stress I was putting on myself. I knew balancing my classes and a sport in college were going to be hard, but adding onto it depression, anxiety, and migraines... it was close to hell for me.

Team practices, workouts, team dinners and bonding time started to become the thing I looked forward to most. The girls made me forget about my stressors and I just had a good time. I have never been on a team where we connected this much or gotten along so well.

It had been a first for me where i found myself with so many good support systems, even my coach and graduate assistant coach. They all made me feel like I had found my home away from home.

I know I am not only when I can say that this team is my family, because we all feel that way. I have never been so comfortable in my life with a group of people other than these girls and two men.

There are so many countless times that all of you have saved me from beating myself up all night or prevented me from self-harming. There are so many countless times that you have made a difference for me and did not even know it.

So here is my one big thank you to Joe, Jed, Chacoola, Shakyra, T.I.F., Speedy, Sharkbait, Amanda, Coach Tom, and Kenneth. You guys have been my family for these past four months and have helped me survive my first semester of college.

I never realized what a big impact signing my National Letter of Intent would mean to me.