This year I have been blessed with the opportunity of meeting 22 other people that have changed my life. These people started off as strangers and then at some point that I couldn’t even pick out became family. We all came with the goal of getting our masters, the dream of playing basketball for another season, and the hope to make to a difference. Yet at the same time bringing our own personalities, different backgrounds and outlooks.
At first I was so nervous that they weren’t going to like me, or that we wouldn’t get along. In my experience when working with groups some people are closer than others, which is natural, but I have found this year that I have gotten to know each of my fellow scholars enough to know that they will be lifelong friends. I am grateful that I can look back and laugh at the initial nervousness that I had. Each one of them impacted me and so I wanted to send a shout out to each of them:
Thank you to the Dublin girls, Sarah, Jasmine, Jess and Kelsey for always welcoming me and for the infamous sleepovers we had throughout the year. Thank you to Dillion and Meg for all of your visits and for loving Cork almost as much as Tanner and I. T John and Gene, thank you for all of the laughs and showing me how messy you can actually be when eating a kebab. Emma, thank you for being like an older sister to me. Jack, thank you for consistently making me laugh. Belfast ladies, Nyasha, Randy, and Raychelle I wish we had seen each other more, but that being said, thank you for always sharing your smiles with me when we did get to hang out. Britt and Dalacy, thank you for all of your support and kind words throughout the year. Mike and JB, thank you for showing me what it is like to be fierce and still have fun on the court. Belfast guys, Pat, Will and Ryan, thank you for hysterical snap chats and sharing your great senses of humor with me. Ebony, thank you for the spontaneous visits and your strong hype game. Lastly, Tanner, thanks for being my partner in crime all year.
These are all just a few things that I want to thank you guys for, but let me tell you there is so much more. You all have impacted me and shaped me to be a better person. So to anyone who is reading this blog, I hope that you get to meet and know any of these 22 people, because they are truly awesome.
As we finish up this chapter of our life some of us are heading back home, to work, to become an “adult”…whatever that may be, some are staying back in the foreign place that became home. All 23 of us coming from different starting points, joining up on the path less travelled, and now separating out in to different directions; none the same. And though we all may be going our own ways, we will forever be connected by the laughs that we shared, the kebabs that were eaten, the balls that were bounced, the glasses that were cheers-ed, the matching polos that were worn, and most importantly the lives that were changed.
Lads, this is just the beginning. Good luck with everything that comes next, I have no doubt that we will all be GREAT!
Much Love your fellow Scholar Sister,
madison
