Lacrosse wasn't always a huge dream for me.
In fact, lacrosse in my area wasn’t even accessible to young girls until my mom got people together to start up a youth program that fed into my high school. My older brother played lacrosse and I wanted to do what he did.
For the longest time, I was just doing something I enjoyed, something my siblings did. It wasn't until high school that I realized I wanted to play in college.
When I was a freshman, I was on the varsity team with just one other freshman, Lauren. Through my four years playing in high school, Lauren pushed me to get better and showed me what putting in the extra work looks like. I will always be thankful for her motivation.
She's the type of person who had known she wanted to play Division I Lacrosse since she was a little girl.
By the time our junior year came around and the recruiting process began, we were both thinking about where we'd end up playing in college. My recruiting process looked a lot different than my teammate’s which was a big struggle for me; the comparison game became consuming.
COVID affected my recruitment heavily.
It was almost impossible to get in front of schools and coaches to show them what I could do since nothing occurred in person. Film was the main tool used for recruiting during this time, and I didn't have much film to show after my freshman year.
I was a completely different player by my junior and senior years, and I just didn't have the opportunity to show that to anyone.
As my junior year was coming to an end, I didn’t have the offers I thought I would.
It was really hard not to compare myself at that point.
I knew that I still wanted to play in college, no matter how long it took me to get there, so I continued to send the emails, go to prospect camps, and put myself out there.
I just had to trust that I'd find my school eventually, and I did.
I committed to Kent State in November of my senior year, and it was such a relief.
It's hard to describe the feeling of finding 'your' school.
A weight was lifted off my shoulders.
I now had something to look forward to instead of stress about.
I couldn't wait to tell my friends and family and get to work.
I was officially going to be a Division I athlete at Kent State, and I couldn't have been more excited.