I have always been into sports, from the time I was three until now in my early twenties. My parents started my sister and me in sports very young because they always wanted us to be involved individuals. I started dancing before I began cheer-leading, initially I only joined tumbling classes because I could not do a cartwheel for a routine I was currently participating in.

So, my mom put me at a local cheer gym that one of my sister's friends cheered for to help me learn. As a small little chubby five-year-old, I fell in love with the sport that was competitive cheer-leading. It was so glamorous to me, I loved competitive dancing but there was just something about it. I would watch the high school varsity competitive team during my tumbling lessons and would tell my mom I was going to be one of those girls one day.

Well, a very short nine years later a collection of national championship jackets and five different uniforms I was a Granite Hills Varsity cheerleader as a freshman in high school. It was one of my most valued memories from high school. Between having well-respected coaches, the amazing life-long relationships I made, and mainly the signature blue and white uniform that gave me so much pride in my school.

Unfortunately, after eleven years of cheer-leading being my whole entire world, I had a bad injury to my left shoulder senior year. Due to tearing my rotator cuff I was unable to continue to cheer at a collegiate level.

This injury left my freshman year at college incredibly empty, all I had ever known was cheer-leading. I felt so sad not always having practice to go to, and struggled with not just belonging anywhere. When being on a sports team those are your people, you all have the same love and passion for the same exact thing, and that is what I missed the most.

I did make friends, went to the gym, and joined some clubs on campus my freshman year of college. So I did come back the following fall semester but I still missed being in a sport. One of my best friends found a flyer for GCU Women's Rugby open tryouts. She texted it to me and said hey your strong and in-shape you should try this. I was incredibly questionable at first. I just kept thinking I was a cheerleader how would I fit in with a "real" sports team, and honestly these girls are going to eat me alive.

But while going through a very transitional period in my life, I gave myself the benefit of the doubt and said well either you will love it or leave it. To give myself confidence I just kept saying "At least you can say you tried". Well, I did just that and I found my new muse within a month. Joining the GCU Women's Rugby team has been the absolute best part of my college experience.

The day I stepped on the field for practice with my bright pink cleats and having absolutely no prior knowledge of what rugby was, I found a new family. These women are some of the most fun-loving, loyal, and accepting sisters I could've ever asked for. We have been through the bad loses, the undefeated seasons, and survived the hundred degree weather while our cleats are melting on the turf.

Rugby is unlike any other sport. It is one of the only sports where the rules are the same whether it is women or men playing the game. But it is also a game of absolute resilience regardless of the conditions. Rugby has given me confidence that I can genuinely do whatever i set my mind to, because while learning this game I have.

A whole year and a half later, I am honored to say I am on Grand Canyon Universities Women's Rugby team. We are Division 1 and won our conference during regular season for the Gold Coast Conference. Through the early morning gym sessions, the bruises, and black eyes I am a part of a sisterhood that is unlike any other.

Therefore, for all of you that are ever afraid to step outside that comfort zone of by trying something new...Go do it.

I can say for myself, I found a new passion and love for a sport that is so incredibly unique. I did not only meet some amazing mentors who I get the privilege to call my coaches, but I gained a rugby family between the women's and the men's rugby teams here at GCU.