Introducing Me

Greetings world! Thank you for coming to my blog. First, I am going to take a blog post to introduce myself. Not many people here know my life story so I think it is time to tell it.

I was born in Dayton, Ohio in the summer of 1999 to two of the most loving parents you could ever imagine and a brother who loved me sometimes. That was well-deserved, though, because I was the most difficult child to deal with everyday. I never stopped talking, whereas my brother Tommy grew up to become a more quiet child. Although we had our differences, I looked up to Tommy and wanted to be just like him, except for the strange fact that he enjoyed running. Tommy's passion for running has made him the most driven and determined individual I have ever met and to this day remains my role model. 

Despite how different it was to raise me compared to Tommy, my parents were always my greatest supporters through everything I did. I have always been able to go to my parents for everything and have never felt anything but love and acceptance at all times. Both of my parents attended the majority of my volleyball matches and tournaments through high school and were never reluctant to drive far just to see me play. My dad taught me to never settle and always push myself while my mom kept my feet on the ground and made sure I was happy with everything I was doing in life. My parents made me the person I am today and because of that, I am eternally grateful for all the opportunities they have given me.

My family grew up in a small suburb named Oakwood, known as the “rich and snobby” part of Dayton. Despite the reputation, Oakwood was a welcoming and supportive community that gave me a strong foundation to learn who I was meant to be in life. I was chatty and energetic, which oftentimes got me into trouble at school. I struggled to pay attention at times and was always moving around because I could not sit still. I had all this energy bottled up and had to find something I could do to project it. I played every sport imaginable in order to attempt to find myself, along with dance and cheerleading, neither of which were pretty sights to see. Playing all those sports led me to the conclusion that I am not athletic enough to play more than one or two sports, which my dad likes to disagree with (sorry Dad). But thanks to my cousin, Olivia, I found the one sport that would stick with me until present-day.

I learned how to play volleyball as a toddler and grew up learning to love it. Volleyball was a sport that did not require much running, which was music to my ears, yet it was an energetic game where I got to talk all the time. Once I hit my latter elementary years, I spent my summers going to numerous volleyball camps at clubs near me in order to build up my skill set. I soon fell in love with the sport and every fall I had the opportunity to play for my school’s team and every winter/spring I played for the Champaign County Sharks Volleyball Club. I loved to play all year-round because not only was I getting the chance to play volleyball, but I was also meeting new people with every team I played on. I learned things about myself as a player, leader and person that helped me to develop into the person I am now. Volleyball was the majority of my life in high school, but when I was not playing the sport I loved most, I was with my amazing group of friends.

 If there is any group of people that helped me to become the person I am today, it would be the friends I made in high school. I was blessed with three of the best friends a girl could ask for: Erika, Emmy and Maggie. They were all so different from each other, so they all brought something different out of me. I learned patience, humor, thoughtfulness and a large amount of sarcasm from these girls and would not have had it any other way. I shared the most memorable moments of high school with them and have an endless amount of stories I could tell. They pushed me to be a better person and friend everyday and without them, I think I would be completely different. 

Then there are the friends I made from a club at my high school called Energy Team. In summary, it was a group of people working to increase awareness about the need for cleaner energy in the communities surrounding us. It was an interesting group that would have never come together otherwise, yet we shared a strong bond. I met my best guy friends because of Energy Team, who also taught me about myself. In the beginning, I did not think they would become such a vital part of my life, but I now know that I can always count on them whether I am looking for advice or just needing a laugh.

I could go on and on about the other people and things in my life that have made me who I am, but I do not have the time to do that. My goal was to give a short introduction on my past and how that has shaped me into the person I am now. It is all the culmination of my past experiences that has gotten me to this point and I cannot wait to see where my future takes me. But until that day comes, thank you for reading!