I feel that in years to come, when people hear the word “2020,” some negative thoughts may occur. Sure 2020 had a lot of negatives but I think it’s important to find the good in this not-so-seemingly-great year. This year definitely challenged me, but also brought some great memories. There were a lot of question marks in my life this year. Will I have a travel or high school softball season? Will school be normal? What will basketball season be like? All of these thoughts occurred to me. In the midst of uncertainty, I persevered in order to not let the uncontrollable events take over. 

I worked hard to not let COVID-19 affect myself, my schoolwork, and my athletic success. Even in these times I still managed to keep my grades the course. I also worked hard to stay in a routine each day, whether that be working out, doing chores, or getting up at the same time every day.

At the beginning of the pandemic, our high school softball season was shut down. I think when this happened, it all really sunk in. My team and I had a great chance at winning the conference championship as well as the sectional championship. We were preparing for our first game when we heard the news. We didn’t know what to think at that moment. So, when high school softball started getting shut down, travel softball didn’t look like it was going to happen. I was told that we would get one, maybe two tournaments in. In the end, we played all but one tournament. I was so grateful that we stayed the course and stayed ready.

That all happened over the summer and then school started. I wasn’t sure what the school year would look like, I just hoped it would be as close to normal as possible. We started off going all in person, just wearing masks. Wearing masks was fine as long as we were in school. Then, the second quarter came and we switched to a hybrid schedule. I didn’t get to see some of my friends that I normally saw every day. Going to hybrid and then switching to all virtual was a challenge. 

In hindsight, I think all of the challenges that I had to face this past year made me into a better person because of the way I persevered. Maybe 2020 was what myself and others needed.