I recently had my senior weekend for UWF softball at one of our home series. We have a lot of seniors, so instead of recognizing everyone at the last home game, they split each of us up so we’d get our own weekend. It’s exciting but one of those things that I was just going to coast through, since we still have more season left, and I don’t handle a lot of attention well all at once. Nevertheless, it was a memorable weekend. But, the biggest memories weren’t from being called out on the field and announced to everyone the time I’ve spent here and the accomplishments I’ve made, it was the personal texts and conversations with my teammates that I had throughout the entire weekend. I have friends on the team, but my best friends are people outside of softball, so I didn’t expect a lot of sentimental moments with each of my teammates. Boy, was I wrong. I had some of my girls bring me to tears when they told me how much I meant to them, how much I’ve inspired and helped them, a lot of which I had no idea about. One of my teammates even made a comment about when we first met and how she knew she’d love me, and that was two years ago!
Having these moments really solidified the impact that I now know I can have, even when I don’t realize it. I’ve learned from my students, the kids I coach and my own teammates that even the little things never go unnoticed. That’s probably the biggest lesson I’ve learned through this part of my journey, and I am so thankful to have felt that type of personal recognition these last few weeks. Even when you don’t think what you’re going through or how you handle situations may have an impact on people other than yourself, remember, there will always be someone watching. There will always be someone listening. Let those moments be a moment of growth for not only yourself but those around you. Development is contagious! When others see you working on yourself, that trickles through those around you and helps them on their journey as well. Never stop growing. Never stop being the best you that you can be. You’ll help more people than you will ever know.