This past year has been filled with many extraordinary experiences as well as many challenges. I have been able to travel to another country, I was accepted into an organization that I wanted to be a part of since I’ve been at UC, I have been working towards my future goals within the sports world, and I have also made some life changing decisions along the way. I thought last year was tough and insightful, but this year definitely takes the cake.

        

Fall Semester I had the opportunity to take the Social Entrepreneurship Honors Course which had a travel component attached to it that allowed us to go to Montreal, Quebec.  Montreal was beautiful and we all truly enjoyed ourselves while we were there. The course work was extremely challenging and it made me aware of all the hard work that goes into being an Entrepreneur. I think the best part of the course was communicating and working with the UQAM students. They showed us a great time in Montreal and we were fortunate enough to be able to return the favor here at UC. The other honors experience I was able to complete was LeaderShape. For me, LeaderShape was all about looking deep within myself to discover my true passion and determine how I plan to make a difference in the future while maintaining my integrity and while learning how to become a better leader. It was a great week spent with a wonderful group of people.

 

This year I decided to apply to be a ROAR Guide and to my surprise I was accepted into the organization. Unfortunately for me it was short lived because I never made it through training. I had to make the difficult decision to leave the organization due to other circumstances that no longer allowed me to be able to maintain the commitment that was required of me to be in the organization. It was the best decision for me and I am glad that I made it. I learned that you can’t always have everything you want, all you can do is what is best for you. A lesson that I have learned multiple times this year.

To top everything off that took place this year I also received some life-altering news. I found out that I am pregnant and that I will be having a daughter in late September. This news altered my college plan slightly, but I still managed to work everything out to still graduate when was originally expected. Having a baby while still maintaining my full-time student status will be difficult, but I know that I can handle it. This baby is a blessing and I am excited for her to get here.

 

This coming year is the year, it is the year that I was supposed to be graduating, it is the year that most of my friends will be graduating and moving forward with their lives. It is a little disappointing that I will not be graduating with my friends this year due to the changing of my major and picking up a minor towards the end of  my sophomore year which ultimately added one extra year to my college career, but ultimately I know I did what was best for me in the long run. I have a rocky path ahead of me and my main goal is to just remain focused, graduate school by Spring ’18, and be the best mom that I can be to my daughter.