Sports. I love every aspect of them. The intensity of the game, the thrill of competition, and the eagerness to win. I have grown up in a world surrounded by sports. My parents were athletes; my dad played football and baseball in high school and my mom was a gymnast at the University of Maryland. At a young age, my brother and I both tried a variety of sports like soccer, baseball, basketball, and lacrosse to evaluate which we actually enjoyed and could see ourselves sticking with. We were the type of family that religiously watched NFL football on Sundays and would invite the whole neighborhood to our house to watch the Redskins game (an unfortunate team to root for).

It was not until high school until I started playing field hockey. I was persuaded by the high school coach to switch from my main sport of soccer to field hockey, which was a new, unique game I had never played before. However, in the summer, the coach worked with me and I developed the skills fairly quickly. My goal was to make the varsity team as a freshman, so I worked at different skills every week to become a better player. My whole mindset changed as I became more motivated, excited, and scared ever before in my life because I was doing something that was so unfamiliar to me. My dad always told me to strive to be the best at what I do, and I did exactly that. After countless days of persevering through the tough practices and intimidating results, I made varsity. I knew this was my sport the moment I picked up the stick. I relate sports to everything in my life; leadership, perseverance, defeat, heartbreak, and triumph are all wrapped up in the game. Sports have made me face all of those factors and have taught me how to handle the rough patches in my life and the successes I achieve. I can’t see my life without sports, because they have done so much for me. So, thank you. Thank you sports for allowing me to express myself and providing me with life long lessons and skills on and off the field. I am making my hobby a reality.