High school was interesting to say the least and even though I have some awesome memories like friday night football games, prom, homecoming, bonfires, class field trips and more, and my best friends made everything worthwhile, the thing I will miss the most about high school is playing field hockey. If I could go back in time, it would be to get one last chance back on the field with all my favorite people, doing what we love.

Field hockey became such a huge part of my life when I was in sixth grade and followed me for seven more years after. It was seven years of tournaments, conditioning, waking up at the crack of dawn to drive several hours and then become even more exhausted when it was time to leave. This seems ridiculous and not any sort of fun, but it was worth it. I enjoyed doing this because I loved the sport that much. My teammates had always made it worth it as well, it seemed like no matter what drama or personal issues we had going on at the time we never let that interfere with playing and the second we stepped out on the field it was forty minutes of focus and energy, nothing else seemed to matter and it would be awesome to just have those moments maybe one more time.

My high school team is something that will have an impact on me for the rest of my life. These girls were some of the most dedicated people I have ever known and still to this day they are all extremely driven and motivated while pursuing their goals and dreams. We had spent almost every waking moment with each other between conditioning twice a day every day over the summer and practice every day after school and then games and more conditioning on the weekend. You would think that we would just be tired of seeing the same people but no, we loved spending all this time together knowing we could help each other, build off of each other and grow as one team. This has impacted me because I have taken this sort of bond and teamwork skills with me and can use them in the real world and I am forever thankful for that.

All I can say is that the blood sweat and tears shed during my four years of high school, it some how all leads back to playing field hockey and I do not regret a thing. I will encourage my future children to play sports and join a team because you take the memories and skills with you for the rest of your life and I believe everyone should be able to experience this in their lifetime. So thanks to you field hockey, for making me have the best four years of my life.