The time has come; I have walked out of my last home football game. Never in my entire life would I have thought that football and especially Mizzou football would have taken a hold on my life like it has.

Having graduated from a high school that didn’t have the opportunity to have a football team, my first two years of undergrad I didn’t attend football games. Thankfully for me, my two besties, Katie and Morgan, basically convinced me that I was CRAZY for not coming. Junior year I spent joyous times with them by my side and fell in love.

Now senior year has came and now (nearly) finished. Having a rough start to the semester, it was bittersweet. During my entire college our team had been decent but nothing really had came of it. As I’m typing, Mizzou is playing Arkansas at Arkansas and we’re eligible for a bowl game.

So instead of shedding tears from the ending of a season, I’m counting down the top 10 things I’ve gained from Mizzou football.

Friends

Thankful for so many people and souls that have sat with me, by me, and helped me not only network but also to share laughs with and tears with. Football gives an opportunity for friends to gather and enjoy a past time.

Winning isn’t everything.

My parents have even contributed to this lesson, but it’s pretty prevalent every Saturday in fall. Winning is great, winning in fun, but if you only ever win then what have you learned? You might have learned to constantly be “winner” but we also have to fail in order to find success again. Failure is great, failure leads you in a different direction that you might not have went originally, and failure is a sign that we’re human. Win humbly and fail thankfully.

Time management.

I laugh as I type this, but I can’t tell you how many football Saturday’s I was THE LAST girl out of the house. Literally. It got annoying so I had to eventually learn time management skills. Now, I’m not saying I didn’t have that before, because I have, but there’s something about a football Saturday and enjoying the spirit everywhere that’ll get you out of the house early.

Love.

Find love and share love. Be happy you’re where you’re at, thankful for your experiences and life, and share that with others. Football gathers people together and allows many people to share similar experiences with each other. So why not just be joyful.

Discipline.

Anything is possible if you get your mind to it. It relates to how a long week might go and instead of just giving up and letting a bad day, week, or month just take you over, dig in your heels and just tackle it.

Highlights

The best part about moments in football is the highlight reel that follows afterwards. That can be similar in life because when we experience moments in our lives that we want to forever remember, you’ll be able to hold those moments forever. The best part is that you get to share it with some of the people who you love most and can share with them.

Passion

For many of the football players, for them to play in the SEC it’s a dream come true. In real life we can realize those passions we carry deep in our hearts and work to find a way to make them a reality. Uncovering those passions are determinate on ourselves and can only be found if we are open and honest about what it is that sets our hearts on fire.

Teamwork

Teamwork is dream work. If you don’t have a solid team, how will you ever succeed? Doing at it alone is great but only for so long. Take those people who’ve been with you all along, share with them your highlight reel and work hard to get to your dreams. Those team members will help carry you when you’re down, cry with you when you need it, and love you when you feel unlovable. Find your tribe and love them hard.

Faith

If you do not rely on your team members, you will not have a team nor will you have the opportunity to be successful. Be reliant, believe in your team, and you must always believe in yourself. Others will be able to help challenge you and you can challenge others with your own abilities.

Always have fun.

Sure football and life can teach you a lot of great lessons. At the end of the day, we cannot forget to take life with a grain of salt. Never hold yourself too seriously and don’t forget to enjoy those highlights, passions, friends, and love.