All The Light I Couldn’t See My journey of leaving home andtobeginning college Welcome the World

They say it takes a village to raise a child, and mine ran deep.

From day 1 to year 18, from the first moment to this moment, they are my greatest joy and safest place. Every time I turn around, there they are to cheer me on and share in every victory.

I grew up in the same home that my mother was raised in, just blocks away from where her sister now lives, and within spitting distance of where my sister goes to college.

1224 S Church Street is more than just an old house in Georgetown, Texas. It’s a home where love, comfort, sadness, and sorrow are stored. From family game night to Sunday dinners to every holiday and birthday, our lives played out around that kitchen table.

When my senior year of high school began and I signed my letter of intent to play wheelchair basketball for the University of Illinois, the reality that I was move 1000 miles away from my comfort zone hit. I was beyond excited for a new chapter, but the unknown was daunting.

As it tends to do, time passed and before I knew it, it was August. The cliff had come, and it was time to jump.

So, along with all my uncertainty and fear, I did.

The fall was rough. I watched while my new friends fled home when they missed their mom or wanted a home cooked meal. The 17 hours between Georgetown and Champaign felt like worlds away.

It set in that no one can do this with me or for me, this is a path I have to walk alone. The weight of being a student athlete was heavy, and I lost pieces of myself within the expectations that others had for me.

Somewhere between all the stretching and discomfort and change, I grew up. I found all the light I couldn’t see. And I learned that light meets you on every step of the journey.

Life will have phases and seasons, but you take yourself with you everywhere you go. It’s okay if you’re scared and trembling, but if you continue to lead with your heart, doors will open that you never even knew existed.