Since I was seven, I have only known one thing on the weekends and that is playing baseball. That is until this year when I decided to give up baseball and leave my previous university to come to UGA to pursue a career in dentistry.

For the last two years I played baseball at a school in Wilmore, Kentucky called Asbury which is about four-hundred miles from my hometown of Acworth, Ga. The experience of going to a school where you have no connections to anyone was refreshing and intimidating at the same time. It was fun to be forced to meet new people and meet people from a different part of the country and I made friendships that I will keep for life. However, I still wasn't home and not being able to see my friends and family that I had grown up with, especially during the season, was weighing heavy on me and this was only compounded by the fact that my interest in baseball was fading.

The decision to come to UGA was a difficult one. It felt like I was leaving behind a new life in Kentucky, but I knew it was what was best for me and my family. Since coming here being able to balance work for my biology major and keeping up a good social life has been significantly easier with baseball out of my life.

In the end, leaving baseball and transferring to UGA was a tough decision, but I know it was the right one for me. It’s been a lot easier to focus on my goals and balance school and life without baseball. While I’ll always appreciate the memories and friendships I made in Kentucky, I’m excited to focus on my future in dentistry and this next chapter at UGA.