Ever since I was little, I've known that I love the game of softball.
By age three, I was already playing t-ball, completely infatuated with the sport.
I looked forward to attending practices after school and playing in games.
My parents often remarked on my passion for the game and how I always excelled at it.
Little did I know that as I grew older, I would struggle with the pressure I placed on myself to be perfect and coping with failure.
When I was 14, I hit a slump. I had never experienced failure like this before, and I didn’t know how to handle it.
Car rides home were filled with silence, and I constantly cried, feeling the immense weight of uncertainty about whether I would ever achieve my dream of becoming a college softball player. Everything changed one day at a college softball camp when a coach approached me and said, "You’re going to be great, but you have to get out of your head. You are so hard on yourself. Once you get out of your own way, you’re going to be great."
Her words were a turning point for me. I made it a priority to stop letting negative thoughts control my game and diminish my success.
I talked to my parents, and we agreed that breaking down after a bad game or tournament wasn’t helping me.
I made a plan to stay positive and not let one bad at-bat define me as a player or person.
That season, I went from a .100 batting average to a .500 batting average. Changing my mindset transformed me into a better player.
I learned to control what I could and leave negative thoughts behind.
In my junior year of high school, I was recruited to Providence College to play Division I softball, fulfilling my dream of becoming a college softball player.
That same year, my high school team went to the state championship.
This was a huge achievement for us since we didn't even make it past the first round of playoffs during my freshman year.
And although we didn't win the state championship in my junior year, I continued to stay positive and not let the fear of failing hold my team back.
My senior year, we went to the championship again, and this time we won.
I proved to myself and others that anything is possible.
I carried this positive mindset into college and ended up with the second-highest batting average on the team.
Today, I use my platform to help other athletes stay positive and not let negative thoughts and fear dictate their success.
