I have been able to do some pretty cool things through sports in my life, but the most memorable to me was in 2016 when my team advanced to the Junior League Softball World Series. We represented the Central Region and were able to travel to Seattle, Washington for the tournament. While there, I was able to meet girls from all over the U.S., such as Texas, California, and Rhode Island, but also from outside the U.S. in Canada, the Philippines, Puerto Rico, and the Czech Republic. Although we were all competing, we were able to become friends and cheered each other on throughout the tournament. This experience taught me that I can have a lot in common with people all over the world. I was able to come together with girls I had never met and we all pushed each other to be our best selves and still compete. Most importantly with my team, we learned how to work together even when we had disagreements. We had been with each other that whole summer and it started to be overwhelming, but we were able to put that behind us in games and play for each other. I will never forget this trip and the lessons I learned stay with me forever.

This past May, I graduated from my high school and was awarded Valedictorian of my class. This was a huge honor and reflected all the hard work I had put into my academics throughout my time in high school. Being able to manage both academics and extra-curriculars was difficult, but now that I know it was worth it I am satisfied. This achievement taught me to always do the best work I could and to manage my work and life, which has been very useful thus far in college.