Notre Dame wasn’t my dream school

The process of college recruiting for softball is incredibly stressful – this is probably true for any sport, but softball is the sport I know.

College coaches seem to be offer girls scholarships right out the womb, but they have to. They have to in order to stay competitive with other programs. The catch is these coaches are betting that these youngsters, who aren’t even in high school yet, will still want to continue playing softball and will still want to go to their university. I’ve seen where both instances have happened.

For me, I was already thinking about playing college ball before I was even good enough to play at that level. In fact, it was when I was in fifth grade, I remember telling my parents I wanted to play softball at Stanford.

The then-Pac10 (now Pac12) was all the rage in softball on the West Coast. Ever since I was little, that had been my dream, so when I had visited Notre Dame on a recruiting visit my sophomore year, I wasn’t incredibly impressed. The Dome was shining as bright as ever and I got to see everything there was to see on campus. EVERYTHING.

I was just too blinded by Stanford.

I remember listening as my coach I play for now told me she wanted me to come to the University of Notre Dame and play for the Irish.

I remember the exact location I was in.

I remember the time of day.

I also remember telling her no.

I told her no…

I told her that I was still holding out for Stanford even though I hadn’t heard from them in over a week. I was holding on to a dream I had when I was still in grade school.

I finally came to my senses, accepted the offer before it was too late, and committed to the University of Notre Dame to play softball. But I would be lying if I said I wasn’t still reluctant because I very well was. I still had a bitter taste on my tongue because I would be playing in blue and gold in the Midwest, not crimson on the West Coast.

But that feeling has changed drastically since.

I found myself at this school and have made the best of friends. I am currently a junior at the greatest university in the world, and I couldn’t be happier.

It frustrates me to think this place wasn’t my number one choice from the get-go and how if I played at Stanford, the girls I currently call my teammates and sisters would be strangers to me. How I fought so hard and for so long to not come here, but I still ended up right where I needed to be.

Right where I belong despite it all.

So, in the end, my story of how I found myself to attend the University of Notre Dame has taught me a few things.

No matter how bad you want something to happen, just trust that everything will be how it needs to be, everything happens for a reason, and everything is going to be okay.

It sure did happen to be that way for me, and continues to be.