As all the girls have said before me, there is so much to be thankful for. I'll only keep you for a few though.. I am most thankful for my wonderful friends and family. I have such an amazing support system in good times and bad. I may be a little biased, but as much as I complain about my parents, they are two of the most amazing people. They support every crazy decision that comes to my mind and listen to my little rants and raves. Since I started playing basketball when I was 8 years old, they have come to every single game possible, and were my biggest cheerleaders. Even if I was having a little bit of an off game.. They were there every time I had those bad games and would come home upset and bring up my spirits and just tell me to make up for it the next time I stepped onto the court. They have given me my "never give up no matter what mentality" which has ultimately made me a stronger person today.
And talking about making me a stronger person.. I am thankful for Coach Eaton. I am thankful for the opportunity I have to play basketball under such an amazing person and coach. She truly cares about each and every one of her players as if they were a family member. I recently got hurt in our tip off tournament at Washington and Jefferson College, and was taken straight to the hospital. I cannot tell you how much I appreciated that Coach Eaton rushed over to check up on me as soon as she could, even though she had other things to worry about that night. Although this will be my last year playing as a lady bobcat, sadly, I will treasure the two years that Coach Eaton has made me a better basketball player as well as a better person. I now have confidence in myself that when I leave UPG, and move on to further my career goals, I will be more equipped to handle what ever situations come at me.
I cannot even express how thankful I am for all of my friends also. I came from a tiny town where every body knew everybody. On November 1st of this year, an amazing girl from my high school died in a car accident and my whole town was in shock. Nobody had a negative thing to say about this girl and you always saw her with a smile on her face. A beautiful thing came from such a horrible event and since then, the entire town has come together and is one big family. When I went to her funeral viewing, there was a constant line from 1:30 in the afternoon to 11:30 at night wrapped around the block of people just wanting to pay their respects for such an amazing girl. To see how many people were affected by just one person's life was just so awe inspiring. It has shown me not to take the little things for granted, tell the ones you love that you love them whenever you get the chance, and just become a better person all around.
And last, but not least, I am thankful for my lady bobcats!! I am so happy that all of you girls chose UPG and that I got the opportunity to get to know all of you ladies. And as everyone has mentioned, yeah we had a rough start, but we have truly become so close and are like a family. I fully believe that one day it will just click and we will start playing together like can be, which could raise a lot of attention. Let's make UPG proud ladies! Love you all!
