" Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened. "

Well I decided to start this blog as a place to put thoughts and day to day events that occur and need to be shared. I also love to write. I'm going to try to update it as much as possible, but we all know how things like that go. But who knows, maybe this will be different. * Also, this first blog is a rather long one. *

As most of you know I play softball, and have for the past 9 1/2 years of my life. I love it, and that is why I play, not to get scholarships, although if given the opportunity to go to school and play softball on a scholarship, I will greatly take it, but generally I play because it makes me happy. I have been on the team at school since my freshman year and I have loved it, but this past year has been the greatest. I feel that the team meshed very well and we were very strong in all aspects of the game. We worked very hard all year to be the best we could possibly be. We had happy moments and sad moments, and we stayed a team through it all.This past week was our last time together in uniform for this season. We practiced very hard Monday - Wednesday, and on Thursday we headed to Sparkman to play in the Area Tournament.

As I sat in 1st and 2nd period on Thursday, the clock seemed to tick slower and slower with each passing minute. Finally I couldn't take it anymore, and Lauren Williams and I headed out of Mrs. Richey's room, while Mr.Stiener (her sub) was pretending to cry because we were leaving. We went and got dressed, and met the rest of the team on the sidewalk of the J parking lot to wait on the bus. We joked and talked about fun times until the bus arrived. We all piled on the bus and chose our seats, and began our trek to Sparkman. But before we left Decatur, we made a stop at Chik-Fil-A. I swear, this team is more serious about food than anything ! Before the bus could even get stopped everyone was piling out of the bus, including opening the emergency exit in the back. We got our food and got back on the bus, and continued unfinished conversations. As we got closer and closer to the school, our adrenaline levels started to rise quickly. Everyone was pumped and ready to play, I don't think we had ever been more ready the whole season. We got off the bus and applied our eye-black and got down to business. We played Bob Jones first, and beat them, which was AMAZING. After that we had a one-game break, and then we played Sparkman. We got beat 9-8, which is the closest we have come to beating them this year, but we were still in good spirits. We had a lengthy break and decided to go to the Madison Square Mall to eat dinner and kill time before the game. After eating ( the table was filled with a variety of food, including Chinese, "Mexican" which was really mashed potatoes and mac-n-cheese, Subway, etc. ) we went to the arcade. Along with food, our team is very competitive when it comes to games. Dance-Dance Revolution was a popular choice, although frustration arose in those who were rhythmically-challenged. Along with that was Air Hockey ( or as Kayla called it 'Ice Hockey' ). I would upload the beyond hilarious video of Ashton playing Dance-Dance Revolution & Sherika and Coach Crump playing Air Hockey, but my phone is not cooperating. We love to have fun, and this includes many Sing-a-longs on the bus, which are so funny and happen quite frequently. When we got back to Sparkman, we warmed up, which usually leads to playing some kind of game or pretending to be a pitcher or dancing, you get the picture. Going into the last game we had numerous peptalks and random dancing ( we tend to do this a lot ). We were pumped nonetheless. We fought the whole game and never gave up, but we were shy 1 run from extra innings. With the last out came the waterworks, people who you rarely see cry were bawling. The coaches said their words of encouragement and how proud they were. Then they gave the floor to the seniors who were struggling to get out sentences through the tears, but they said things that made us laugh, cry even more, and things that encouraged us. They have been a big part of our success this season through their leadership and actions. It will not be the same without them next year, and they will be missed so much. This season has been memorable, and the end was not the one we wanted, but we did get a lot accomplished this season. We had a winning season, we won a tournament in Tennessee, where we beat #22 in the nation, Beech, we beat Bob Jones, and came so close to beating Sparkman. There are so many more things that were accomplished, those are just a few. I had a great time this season, we worked hard and our hard work payed off. I am so excited for next year, and hope to be taking a trip to Montgomery for the State Tournament !