Can you “Throw like a girl?”

Just the other day I had a conversation with my professor that opened my eyes to a different viewpoint on the sport that has changed my life. He knows I'm on the softball team and was curious about how our season was going and some of the different aspects of playing a women's collegiate sport. So, he asked me two questions: The first was, "Do many people go to your games?" I quickly replied, "Not really..." so then he went on to ask me why. "Why not? Do people not know where the field is or do you think it's because it's a women's sport?" I sat back and thought about that for a second, not because I didn't know the answer to it but because it occurred to me that the question he was asking me goes much deeper than just, "Why don't people go to softball games?" Now, I know my professor didn't mean to be sexist, and I'm not going to take it as such, but it made me think about the differences between women's and men's sports.

In all reality, people would much rather watch a men's sport than a women's sport and unfortunately, that's part of our gender inequality. Not only did it make me think about that, but it also made me think about how it had never really occurred to me why we don't get a huge number of fans. All I could come up with was that maybe it is because our field is in the middle of a swamp and really hard to locate? Whatever the reason, I truly don't care. Don't get me wrong, everyone loves fans, it makes the game much more exciting, but in that moment, I realized that I am just happy to be playing the sport I love, fans or not.

Some people like to draw, some like to hunt and some like to participate in sports. Maybe they like to do more than one of these things. No matter what it is you love to do--treasure it. Finding something you enjoy doing so much is invaluable. Not only has softball been a passion of mine for longer than I can remember, but it has been an escape for me. It has been an outlet for everything going on in my life and I thank God every day for bringing it to me. When I'm out there it's like nothing else exists in this world, so on a hard day sometimes it's the only thing that can make me feel better. This sport has not only given me something to lose myself in and something I completely love to do, but it has helped me to find myself. It has revealed to me my inner strength and taught me that I'm capable of doing anything as long as I believe in myself. It has given me self-confidence and helped me deal with high-pressure situations, inside and outside of softball.

If you haven't found your passion, or something that you can count on to relieve stress on a daily basis, I urge you to go out and find it. Try something new, you just never know how much one thing can impact and change your life.