#NGWSD20: Dear Ashley
Dear Ashley,
You don’t know this now, but soccer will teach you more life lessons than you could ever imagine. There will be many times in your career that you’ll think you have everything figured out. You don’t. There will also be times where you question if the challenges and setbacks in soccer will ever be worth it. They will.
For each struggle, you will find that there is a blessing waiting for you right around the corner. Don’t stop grinding. This will all pay off one day.
Soccer will take you through numerous hardships, including two reconstructive knee surgeries before you’re finished with high school. It will bring countless long nights of training followed by homework, only to turn around and do it over again the next night. There will be periods of time where you question your ability and convince yourself that you’re not good enough. You will also battle things that others can’t see. Don’t ever back down from that fight. You think you know your path through college soccer. You don’t. This is a blessing in disguise, so don’t worry. You will fail, and you will fall many times, and through the rough patches, it’s okay to rely on others.
Your family will be your rock throughout everything. They will also be your soft place to fall every single time. Enjoy the long car rides to games and tournaments joking around with your parents. Remember to appreciate your siblings always being your biggest fans. One day, you’ll be playing Division I soccer at Ole Miss (crazy, right?). When things get rough in games, you’ll look to the fence and find one of your little brothers still cheering you on, and you will grow to rely on that. Throughout this entire process, your family will be one of your only constants, so don’t forget to tell them how much they mean to you.
Soccer will find different ways to knock you down time after time. However, each and every setback will strengthen you for your future, so embrace them. Ole Miss Soccer will be one of the biggest blessings in your life. This program will teach you how to be part of something bigger than yourself. This program will also bring you best friends in the form of teammates that you’ll love forever. You’ll also have coaches that will show you to trust in things, including themselves. They won’t let you down. Being at Ole Miss will also allow you to fall in love with the grind that is college soccer. Embrace the weight room. It will be one of your biggest assets. Never regret anything about your journey. You are part of a bigger plan. God always knows better than you do, so trust in Him, no matter the circumstances.
As of right now, my biggest takeaway from soccer is to never let any setback define you. For each struggle, you will find that there is a blessing waiting for you right around the corner. Don’t stop grinding. This will all pay off one day. I still have a long way to go before I have everything figured out and before I reach my soccer capacity. I love being at Ole Miss and with this soccer program. I love where I am right now, and I could not have asked for a better place to navigate through soccer and life.
Trust the process, Ash. This will be extremely difficult, but it will all be worth it.
Love, Ashley
