with this year coming to an end and all of the action in the portal, i wanted to share what it did for me. my freshman year was anything but easy and anyone who knows anything about it could understand the reasons i made the near impossible decision to leave. in the world of college softball, entering the portal could mean never playing again. a lot of athletes that go in have trouble finding a new home. even more of them have trouble finding somewhere better than where they came from. my biggest fear when i signed the papers was that i would end up somewhere only because i was afraid i would never play again just to find that the place i chose was the same or worse. i could not have a repeat of my freshman year because of the mental toll it took on me. when i committed to ksu, i was terrified. i struggled to be excited because i was just anxious and terrified. i knew no one. if it was worse i was going to quit because i didn’t know if i could handle it. however, this year exceeded any hopes that i may have had. it could not have turned out better. from the minute i met the girls, i was accepted and loved. it was so different from what i had experienced, and i didn’t even know you could be happy and play this sport at the same time. from the school to the coaches to the girls, i could not be happier with the decision i made. i love these girls and sharing the field with them, but beyond that i love being around them. they’re my friends before they are my teammates. i went from not going a day without crying to not going a day without laughing. i went from struggling through practice to looking forward to it. i went from shutting myself down to blooming and growing with people who i couldn’t be more thankful to know. the destructive habits i acquired my freshman year have been healed by this team. i never knew how much happiness a person could contain until i stepped onto kennesaw state. entering the portal can be one of the scariest things. let this be a reminder that it can work, and you can love this sport (and college) again. it worked for me and it can work for you too. good luck to everyone and i love you all🫶🏼