God, Grace & The Grit In Between

Wanted to share-A moment I'll never forget...The first time I saw someone purchase my jersey. Won't lie, it got to me.  I remember being 8 and dreaming of moments like these. I'll never take these things for granted. And I made a promise I would never give up.  New post//link in bio.  I've found lots of time to write lately. So here it goes! Throughout the season one of the things I found the greatest joys in are gamedays. Obviously! It's a day where we get to see our hard work pay off but most importantly, have fun. Oh, and win. This team sure does know how to win. And winning is also really fun. For me, I really enjoy seeing all the fans after the game. It feels personal for me. I very vividly remember being eight years old and getting to be a ball-girl for the Lee's Summit North High School Varsity soccer team. Wednesdays were truly my favorite day of the week. I wore my t-shirt to school every game day. It was a quote picked out by, i

I know we hear all of the time, "life is short" or "tell the ones you love that you care" etc, but I beg that it doesn't take a tragedy for us to understand the fragility and importance of life and love. We hear all too often about discovering love through pain. Yesterday's events were earth-shattering for the town of Stillwater, the University of Oklahoma State, and for the state of Oklahoma. Stillwater is a fairly quiet town. My family is from here. My mother grew up here, went to HS down the road, then went on to graduate from OSU along with 98% of my family. This town means so much to our family. The people mean so much. My memories are a safe town. A place where we don't lock our doors, we walk around the neighborhood, and we go to every OSU sporting event. No matter their record that year. We walk around, smiling and waving and shouting "Go Pokes!" That's what I grew up with. Tradition, hospitality, loyalty, and a love for this scho

Year one. I just wrapped up my first rookie year in the league. What a wild ride it's been. Lots of sweat, some blood, and maybe even more tears haha! I'm confident enough to admit to that though. It's been the most challenging year of my career. I have learned so much more about myself as a player, a competitor, and about the game in this short season than I thought I would. I still wake up and can't believe I get to play a game, yes a game for my job. It's what I dreamed of as a kid! And hopefully I'll continue to live out that dream and reach other goals I've set for myself. I'm not sure what comes next. But I want to share what I leave this season having learned.  There are no shortcuts on the road to success.      I could write a novel on this. (Maybe one day) I've been told this repeatedly my entire life. My parents were athletes and coaches, and the "hard work beats talent" mentality was ingrained in me and my siblings at a youn

I can guarantee that every single person reading this has had a friend, family member, or loved one who has been affected by cancer. As it has affected my life, and those I love in more ways than one one.  I didn't have any sports heroes, idols or general role models that I honestly looked up to growing up. I admired people for qualities that I wished I had or for their strengths that were my weaknesses, but that's it. Now, at 22 years old I have found those role models, the people that I look up to and draw inspiration from. They are the young and brave . Those fighting a battle I know nothing about firsthand. They are daughters, sons, teammates, friends, classmates, dreamers, they are warriors.  On my worst day, I still know that no one has looked at me and told me that there's a chance I may not live to see tomorrow, a chance that I may or may not beat something. Now I know that life is fleeting, and I could live my last day today. But, I know  I don't truly

Who Cares About Tomorrow?  I had gotten to a point where I felt I had nothing.  Nothing to live for.  Soccer was ripped away from me. My relationship had failed. My family was separating. And I had let go of my faith in Christ.  Ultimately I had given up on myself. I didn't know which was was up. And I didn't care if there was a tomorrow.  I was in pain and couldn't express of explain it. I'm always so happy and full of joy! I've never felt depressed before.  But because I had the amazing support of my friends I was able to find myself again. They weren't afraid to talk to me about my sadness and pain. One of my best friends in particular really took it upon herself to help me find my walk again. She doesn't necessarily know it, but she saved my life. Day by day, moment by moment. She didn't give up on me, and that made all the difference.  My passion for life, my love for The Lord,  my dreams, my spark, and the quirks that m

Since I just officially graduated last week, I have had time to look back on my soccer career. I thought I would write a post to update friends, family, and supporters on what's going on and wrap up my USC career. I am able to happily reflect on the last home game I ever played with USC across my chest. My family got to come. They got to stand on the field of the LA Coliseum as I walked through a tunnel of teammates and fans on senior night. I hugged them and thanked them for four years of support. Four years of many ups and downs. I played my heart out that night. It might have been my best collegiate game actually. We played UCLA, our rivals, and had 10,128 fans there. It was amazing. But walking off the field watching UCLA win the PAC12 Championship stung. Something that has always hit home with me is seeing all the little kids at the games. I didn't have any sports heroes growing up and I strive to be a positive influence for kids. I just want them to know that hard wo