Dear Softball,

1. Thank you for the 5:00 a.m. wake-up calls.

2. Thank you for the two-hour drives.

3. Thank you for the three back-to-back games on a Saturday.

4. Thank you for giving me 12 friends that I got to see every weekend.

5. Thank you for giving me an outlet when things got too hard.

6. Thank you for giving me a reason to learn to braid.

7. Thank you for teaching me how to take smells out of catcher's gear (because that stuff can get nasty!).

8. Thank you for getting me an endless supply of T-shirts so that I never need to do laundry.

9. Thank you for giving me a close connection with my dad.

10. Thank you for the chants that leave my throat horse.

11. Thank you for the bruises and the stories tied to them.

12. Thank you for those awesome tan lines I could never seem to get rid of.

13. Thank you for teaching me how to bite my tongue at people (those stupid umpires) that don't know what they're doing.

14. Thank you for the collection of bows.

15. Thank you for allowing me to never need a manicure for those games that leave me biting my nails to the nub.

16. Thank you for the medals and endless row of trophies.

17. Thank you for the hotel pools and late-night prank bonding sessions.

18. Thank you for giving me so much knowledge to put into my own team and life.

19. Thank you for breaking me out of my shell and helping me become the best version of myself.

20. Thank you for making me proud to play like a girl.

21. Thank you for all of the bonds I've created and the friends I have kept.

22. Thank you for a lifetime of memories.

Softball has always been there for me through all of the ups and downs of the game and my life. The long, hot days, tears and countless memories. I wouldn't have traded it for the world.