The Final Countdown

Never thought I would finally be done with school. I finally get to move on and not have to worry about my grades or professors (except Clark) getting mad at me for missing because of softball.

I am the first to graduate college in my family so they are probably more excited than I am. I don't know if they know the only reason I am graduating is because of them.

If it wasn't for them I wouldn't of been able to play the sport I love and get a scholarship out of it. And if it wasn't for the scholarship then I wouldn't of been able to go to college. My parents spent so many weekends just sitting there watching me play in the blazing heat of even the freezing rain all so I could live out my dream of playing college ball.

So it is only right that I repay them by graduating.

I usually don't post sentimental stuff because i'm just not like that, I never have. But my parents really have done everything for me and I don't know what I would do without them.

They tell me they are proud of me everyday and I always just say thank you. But they don't know I am saying thank you because they are the main reason I am even here getting my degree and living out my dream to play college ball.

The thing that I will miss the most is by far my team. It wasn't just my parents that got me through these four years, It was my team as well. If I didn't have them no telling where I would be.

Its been real and its been fun, but it hasn't been real fun. (Just kidding college was the best time of my life).

Favorite Season Is Finally Here

Almost any person that you know who plays a sport will tell you that heir favorite part of the whole season is post-season.

Post-season games is one of the most high intensity and pressured games I have ever played. A team either comes together as one and succeeds or falls hard and fails. Whenever you keep winning during post-season you really feel like you can't be stopped.

Winning a National Championship is something that every single player and team is striving for. It is what you work everyday towards and it is the reason we get up and have weights at 6:00 a.m. and 4 hour practices in the afternoon. Because once you win the Championship there is no other feeling like it.

You can't help but what that feeling again. We weren't expected to win my freshmen year, we were good but nobody thought we were the ultimate best. We surprised a lot of people, even ourselves at one point.

The conference tournament that year didn't go as planned, we lost 2 and we were out. Thankfully we were ranked high enough to still make it to regionals. That's where all the fun started.

We went undefeated in post-season and going undefeated in post-season is one of the hardest things you can do. When we got to the National Tournament and won the first two games we all said "well we haven't lost yet we might as well win it all."

When we got the ring we knew that this is why everyone wants to win. The ring doesn't just symbolize winning a National Championship it stands for how we all came together and finally won it all. Not many teams can say that.

Trading In Our Cleats For Heels For a Night

The academic athletic banquet happens once a year. It is a banquet where the student athletes with either 4.0, 3.0 and are about to graduate get together and celebrate being a successful student athlete.

Normally when you see any one of us on campus or on the field we are either looking like we just woke up probably because we had to go to class straight from 6:00 a.m. weights. If you have seen us on the field we are in a uniform and usually unrecognizable if we are dressed up and not on a field.

Getting to celebrate my last year with these girls is honestly the best thing I could ever ask for. They each have effected me in different ways that they probably don't even realize.

Brooke is technically a red-shirt senior next year because she broke her ulna while batting this year. She is someone who I can always count one, she will always be there no matter what and never seems to give up on people. I always know she will tell me how it is even if I don't want to hear it.

These are my catchers, they are the ones that put up with me the most during season. Whether I am doing bad or good they always know what to do to help. I know that if they can handle me throwing them dirt balls everyday and still love me then they can handle whatever comes at them.

We don't look half bad when we try.

I am so thankful that I got to spend my last year with softball and UCO with these girls (plus 13 girls that aren't in this picture). If it weren't for my team I wouldn't of been able to get through this year.

Senior Day

Whenever I was little I fell in love with the game of softball. I never thought about if I would get to play in college because when I was little it was all for fun.

The older I got the more that changed, I still had fun but playing in college became more of a reality and it was something that I needed. If it wasn't for my softball scholarship I wouldn't have a college education.

Senior day in highschool was sad and all but all of us seniors knew we had at least 4 more years left to play the game. Senior day of college was different because once you are done you won't get to play this game ever again (except beer league).

I had mixed feelings on senior day on one hand I was honestly happy. Happy that I am almost done and get to move on and see what the next chapter in my life has in store for me. On the other hand it was sad because playing with these girls for 4 years and winning a national championship together is something that is irreplaceable.

Also not being able to play the game in general is something that I am going to miss. The best feeling is winning together as a team and beating that one team we have always hated or that team that we weren't supposed to beat.

The intensity and adrenaline that came with pitching to one of the best teams or best players and being successful is a feeling that nobody else can feel but you.

I know that picture is not very flattering but not many people can look good in the middle of a pitch. Being done for good is bitter sweet but it also means you have to make the most of the time you have left with your team.

Considering we are approaching post-season it is time to leave everything you have on the field. I wouldn't want to do this season with any other group of girls especially the seniors I got to enjoy my last year with.

Chocolate Wasted

I'm not much of sweets person but when it comes to chocolate it's just something that I can't control.

If there is one thing that I probably couldn't give up it would be chocolate for sure (and potatoes) but thankfully chocolate can actually be good for you. 

One of the best things that you can hear is sweets are actually good for you. Chocolate is not only good for you but it can benefit you in ways you didn't even think were possible.

Benefits of eating this delicious sweet: 

1. Reduces stroke risk

- In 2011 there was a study that found the women that ate more than 45 grams of chocolate a week had a 20% lower risk of stroke than women who treated themselves to fewer than 9 grams. 

2. Boosts heart health

- People who eat chocolate regularly benefits from lower blood pressure, lower "bad" LDL cholesterol and lower risk of heart disease. Dark chocolate is the best for this because its inflammation-fighting that reduces cardiovascular risk. 

3. It fills you up

- Chocolate is rich in fiber, dark chocolate can actually keep you full so you won't eat as much. If you eat this sweet regularly it could even reduce the cravings you have for the sweet, salty and fatty foods.

4. May fight diabetes

- A small study in 2005 found that regularly eating chocolate increases insulin, which reduces risk for diabetes. 

5. Protects you skin

- If you have heard of chocolate causing breakouts it is wrong. Dark chocolate is actually good for you skin. The type of antioxidants called flavonoids that is in dark chocolate offer protection from UV damage from the sun. 

6. It can quiet coughs

- If you can't stop coughing try chocolate. There is an ingredient called theobromine that reduces the activity of the part of the brain that triggers those hard to get rid of coughs. Instead of spending money on medicine that you could have side effects from just eat some chocolate. 

7. Boosts your mood. 

- Chocolate eaters have reported to feel less stressed. Who isn't happy when they are eating chocolate. 

8. Improves blood flow

- Cocoa has a anti-clotting, blood-thinning properties that work in a similar way to aspirin that can improve blood flow and circulation. 

9. Improves vision

- Because chocolate can improve blood flow there was another study that showed choclate may also increase blood flow to the retina giving the your vision a boost. 

10. May make you smarter 

- The boost of blood flow to the brain created by coca's flavanols seems to make people feel more awake and alert.