Through my 7 years of playing competitive softball, I have gained a greater understanding of myself and the people in my life. The experiences I have endured over time helped me grow not only as an athlete, but as a person. Softball has helped me create some of the most important relationships and memories; the hard work and dedication I have put into this sport has made me the person I am today. It’s crazy to think a sport as simple as softball could have such a major impact on my personal growth. I have been given so many opportunities that have helped shape me; the ups and downs I have gone through have brought out my best and worst aspects of myself and made me understand who I truly am. From waking up at 4:30am to work out and spending 20+ hours on softball related exercised a week, I have trained myself to be discipled and …show more content…
These personality traits I have gained through softball help me in all parts of my daily life; I excel in my school work with hard work and dedication, and I give 100% of my time and effort in community service groups and projects I help with. Softball has also showed me that although I am an intelligent person on and off the field, I struggle mentally in certain situations. I have found through the years of playing that I have the tendency to over analyze and doubt my abilities. After a rough injury that caused me to put the sport I love on hold for a year, I hit an extremely low point. I came back and realized I wasn't nearly as good as I was before I got my surgery, and the way I played affected me negatively causing a huge deficit in my mental health. I brought all my anxiety and stress from the playing field to my day to day life, I struggled in school and social situations, I couldn't understand how to get myself out of own head. By continuing to play softball and forcing myself to push through the hard times I slowly but surely brought myself to a healthy state. I participated in therapy sessions and