I played softball from the time I was 4 up until my very last year of high school. I feel like, no matter if I play it anymore or not, that it is very much a part of me. Those Mixed Forces years were undoubtedly some of the best years of my life. I can't even begin to tell you how much those long weekends covered in dirt mean to me. Looking back, I wouldn't trade those years for any amount of money you could offer me.
Softball taught me SO many lessons. It taught me how to work hard and how "hard work beats talent when talent doesn't work hard". It taught me how to make friends with people who I may not have anything in common with, and how a common goal can bring you as close as family. It taught me how much my parents, and most parents in general, care about their kids, and how they all have huge dreams for each of their kids- the most important of which is them being happy. It taught me that it's not all about winning or losing, and that the funnest part of everything is the journey. It taught me to keep going, when so many times I wanted to quit.
It taught me to never let the fear of striking out keep me from playing the game.
What has made me so unhappy since last semester was my fear of failure. I had never failed at anything I had tried until last semester, and I guess in a way, it shell shocked me. And then, a God given thought jumped into my head... "never let the fear of striking out keep you from playing the game". This quote is exactly what I've been looking for. I have considered for a while now backing out and trying something new, but now I know that I have to keep going. No matter if I end up failing, I have to keep trying, and not let the fear of failure keep me from trying at all. If I was to leave, and not see if this is what I can do, then I would forever be haunted by the regret and the what-ifs.
So, I will keep going. So many times in my softball career I wanted to quit- quit pitching, quit playing all together. I actually did drop softball for what I thought would be for good when I was 12. I couldn't hit as good as what I needed to to compete, so I thought I would just be done. My parents urged me on, and after a fall-ball season where I almost hit a homerun a game, Mickey Hinson offered me the best opportunity of my life. If I had stopped, I would have missed out on the funnest days and the best friendships that a girl could ever ask for.
Now all of us have gone our separate ways... some still playing, some doing other things. We try and meet up once a year to catch up and see each other, but we all know we can't go back to those days. I know though that those coaches- Mickey, Pop, Dad, and Andy- those parents- Becky, Portia, Ernie, Sandy, Steve, Greg, Tracey, Susan, David, Renee, Barry, Beth, Pam, Sandra, Dawg, My Mom- all of those girls- Kadie, Ashley, Haley, Ellese, Jamie, Laurel, Lindsey (and a few who we gained or lost along the way: Kasey, Courtney, Macy), are all carried in little pieces of my heart, and I will forever be thankful to God for the days that I was blessed enough to be a part of the MFer family.
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