Throughout my entire life, I have played soccer, basketball, and lacrosse. I have loved all three of them with a passion and couldn’t see myself doing anything else throughout my lifetime. I was born into a very athletic family, so I already had the head start.

As I got older, and the competition got harder, especially from middle school to high school, I knew I had to start to decide where I saw myself and what sport I wanted to play in college. I put all of my time toward knowing that I wanted to go to a good school where I could only play one sport, most likely.

Growing up, I always thought basketball was the answer; it was the one sport I loved more than anything in the world, which was like an outlet for me. Anytime I was on that basketball court, I was happy, working hard and just living in the moment and being the best version of me I could be.

While I had loved soccer and lacrosse, they never had given me that feeling that basketball did until around the middle to the end of my freshman year of high school. Basketball became real, and so did the competition. I began to realize that I wasn’t going to go to a school I wanted to in basketball, and it wasn’t the most realistic plan for me.

I started putting in more time and effort into lacrosse, with that being high school and club, and started realizing that I was good and had so much potential. I began to re-find my love for lacrosse, and for that, I will forever be grateful.

As my sophomore year came around, it was my recruiting season for lacrosse, and I ended up quitting club soccer around this time because it was too much to handle, and I knew soccer was just my fun sport that I could still play in high school, but I could no longer commit to playing at the club level.

Shortly after, during the summertime, AAU basketball became too much to handle while going through recruiting in lacrosse and having so many coaches on our sidelines at games. After that summer, I truly realized lacrosse was the sport for me, and I couldn’t imagine myself doing anything else in college.

September 1 of my junior year came around faster than I knew, and I was talking to colleges and ended up committing to James Madison University to play Division 1 lacrosse. While I was between schools and this decision wasn’t an easy one, I knew it was the right decision for me, and ever since then, I have felt nothing but joy for the sport. It felt like a weight had been lifted off my shoulders, and I couldn’t be happier to be where I am because of the people I have met at JMU who are truly amazing, and I am beyond lucky.

While I am now a senior and about to graduate, I have experienced a long year of lasts — like my last time ever playing soccer and basketball. While this hit me hard and I was extremely sad, I know those sports are always with me and have taught me so much. They have helped me to become a better lacrosse player, and they will stick with me forever. So yes, while I went from three sports to one, it truly is an experience and journey I would never change.