Often times, I get asked the question, "If you could tell your younger self something, what would you say?" Truthfully, I struggle answering that question; there is a lot I would say. Being an athlete since the age of three, there is a lot I have learned.

To start off, I would say to face everything headstrong. Challenges will arise, you will go through unfair treatment, your feelings will be hurt. At some point, you will inevitably be heartbroken. I know you put your entire life and everything you do into being an athlete, but it is not the end of the world. It is only the beginning.

Sometimes, your hard work will go unnoticed; but that's okay. You will feel under-appreciated at times, you will feel like your hard work has gotten you nowhere. You will be extremely frustrated from this sometimes. None of that matters; all that matters is that you're being the best you can be. Your hard work and dedication is something that will bring you much further than you can imagine, and will teach you important life lessons beyond being an athlete.

There will be a time you question whether or not being an athlete is worth your time. Life starts to get more stressful, you will increasingly find yourself losing more and more time, but I can promise you, it is worth it. To have found your passion in life at three years old is pure luck, and you need to hang onto that as long as you are passionate about it.

You will also want to quit sometimes. It's easy to give up in hard times, but it's not always the best decision. If you're to quit, make sure it's after a good and successful day. Never quit on bad terms. You will regret it for the longest time if you do. You will always wonder what could have been.

You will get your heart broken. It will take every ounce of strength in you to accept the reality of your worst broken heart in life. But you will overcome it, and you will realize that this is necessary in building your character, though extremely unfortunate.

Your career as an athlete will come to end. However, you do not ever have to say bye to sports. Sports will always be your life, and do not let anybody ever take that away from you.