For as early as I can remember, I have always been interested in sports. I had been put into different activities at a young age such as; dance, soccer, and basketball. I participated in basketball and soccer until I was about 11 years old, but then I decided to quit because they didn't interest me all that much. I tried out cross country for my 7th and 8th grade year, but once again I didn't enjoy it enough to do it everyday for a couple months. It wasn't until my sophomore year in high school that I found a passion for a sport. My high school had the basic sports like running, soccer, basketball, and some other small sports.
At the end of my freshman year I found out that my school would be gaining a new sport, lacrosse. There was a meeting for anyone interested at the end of the year and we would begin practices over the summer going into my sophomore year. That summer was the first time that I had ever picked up a lacrosse stick and something about it just made me never want to put it down. I became a good player during my sophomore year and I continued to practice until my next season my junior year.
Lacrosse became very important to me during my junior year. I decided that I wanted my passion for this sport to continue beyond high school. I finished my season at my high school and my coach had told me about a summer traveling team, "Lighthouse Lacrosse," that I could possibly join if I worked hard enough.
The summer going into my senior year was one that I will never forget because of lacrosse. I did end up getting on the travel team and this opened me up to many new opportunities. I traveled all around New England and down to Virginia, alongside my Mom, to play in tournaments that perspective college coaches were attending. I became 10x the player that I was before because I was playing at a much more competitive level. I had many college coaches contacting me which made me realize that I could play in college if I wanted to.
In December of my senior year I committed to play Lacrosse at Methodist University in North Carolina. This was my dream school for the past 6 months and I was so excited to be attending MU the following year. One month later a big change occurred in my life that made the way I perceived lacrosse to change. I decided in March of my Senior year that I no longer wanted to play Lacrosse in college and I decided to attend Keene State College in New Hampshire because it was closer to home.
I am now here in my freshman year and I am no longer an athlete. Lacrosse was my entire life since I began it my first year of high school, and it was the most important thing to me after my academics. Not being a part of a team and practicing lacrosse all the time is a big change for me. I see the other teams around campus and it makes me miss my team because they were my family for three years. I miss it at times, but I also love being able to put all the passion that I do have into other things. Lacrosse will always be a huge part of who I am, but I am so excited to see what else I am capable of succeeding in.
