Ever since I was little I played as many sports as I could, like many athletes do. Anything from rec soccer to competitive traveling sports such as volleyball and gymnastics. However, one sport in particular stuck with me and made me who I am today. I started playing travel softball when I was only six years old and continued to play travel up until I was nineteen, the summer after my freshman year of college.

I fell in love with the sport at a very young age. Although I had my struggles with it in grade school. I was smaller than a lot of the girls and basically not as good. That all changed as I grew up and caught up with the girls in my class, and actually ended up being a lot bigger than anyone who played the sport in my class.

High school softball was definitely my niche. As an upperclassman, the younger girls really looked up to me as a leader, and I loved being in that leadership position. I went out for softball freshman-senior year. I got a little bit of playing time on varsity my freshman year and got to suit up for regionals.

This was a pretty big deal back then at my school because up to that point not a whole lot of freshmen saw playing time. My sophomore-senior year I was a full-time starter playing just about any position they needed because I was one of the most experienced on the team. I also was awarded all-league honors as a varsity player multiple times.

Around my sophomore year, I began to start thinking about college. After all, it would have been weird if I did not go to school and play. Everyone at my high school knew me as the girl who loved softball and there was not a doubt in my mind that I wanted to play college softball.

Since this was a huge goal of mine I decided to go play for a traveling team that really focused on getting you to college, and to say the least that did not go quite as planned. However the next couple of years, after switching to another team that I absolutely loved, the focus was still on getting recruited.

I went to a showcase every summer and my team tried to play in tournaments where college coaches would be at. You would hand out your profile page to all coaches in attendance. I even got signed up on a recruiting website called NCSA and was actually recruited because of this website. The process is long and you may send out email after email and not get any response.

Finally, I was being recruited by one of the best DII JUCOS in the state and in the country. I was beyond excited to even have their interest. I went up for a visit during the fall of my senior year and decided right then and there that was where I wanted to go.

I was so excited to get there and play the sport I love, but there was that part of me wondering what if this is not the right decision. All my friends were going to universities and I saw them all meet tons of new people and live in dorms and join sororities.

The school I went to had no on-campus living and you basically knew the people on your team and maybe a couple of other athletes at the school other than that the students basically all lived at home.

I love softball and am so grateful for the opportunity that I had to go and play for one of the best teams in the country. My only year there we tied for fourth place at nationals. I also am so grateful for my two best friends that I met through JUCO without that opportunity I would have never met these two lifelong friends.

I will never regret going and playing my freshman year of college, because I accomplished one of my biggest goals, learned many lifelong lessons, and met great friends.

With all that being said making the decision to leave JOCO after only one year was one of the hardest decision I have ever had to make, but I will also never regret leaving after only one year. While it was my dream to go play in college it was also my dream to attend Kansas State University. I got to live my dream as a college athlete and now I get to live my dream as a student at Kansas State.

After one year at Kansas State, I am happy to say that I made the right decision in transferring and am so happy making new friends in my sorority and getting to go do the things I love such as going to all the K-State football and basketball games as a student.

To all you athletes out there who are struggling on what you want to do after high school it will all work out the way it is suppose to. And whether you end up playing or not, always remember the lessons the game has taught you!