Be Someone Else's Light

I set a goal a long time ago about striving to be the person I wish I had growing up. I wanted to make sure I found my ways to give back and to share some insight on the things I wish someone would have taught me at a much younger age. The answers to the many questions I may have had when I was 7, 8, or 9, but didn’t come in contact with anyone who could have answered them until I was over 21. After writing my book it allowed me the time and space to speak to groups of young people with similar backgrounds to myself. The young, eager, athletic, mainly female, individuals that just wish they had someone in the flesh to talk to about the things they experience on a regular basis.

The access that people have these days to others, if I would have had things this way when I was younger I feel like I might have been unstoppable. Whether or not my biggest idols responded or not would have been irrelevant, I still would have put it out there. I was the kid who sent Santa letters in the mail because I found his address to the North Pole. I always felt it was worth a try if I really wanted to receive certain gifts for Christmas. This would have been no different. I would have sent Michael Jordan a message and let him know how much of an inspiration he was to me and how I had big dreams of playing at the University of North Carolina. Or I would have sent Serena & Venus Williams messages asking them how they handled peoples’ criticism about their athletic build/bodies, and how they dealt with a father pushing them as hard as he did. (Also looking forward to watching King Richard this week, super excited for that!!)

Having the ability these days to send messages to idols, superstars, big wig CEOs, and anyone that you may feel could help inspire you or get you to the next level is an absolute cheat code that more people should take advantage of. And for those that are still hesitant and think that it’s not possible, I choose to be a small light to help show them the way. It’s not easy to ask questions, to find the answers, or to even be comfortable in certain settings to ask them, but I do my best to provide the type of environment that caters to the individual who wants to speak up about the things they feel that hold them back from being successful on and off the court, in and out of the classroom, with or without teammates, and so on.

Find ways that you can be someone else’s light!