If you know me at all, you know that I love country music. So you may be surprised that I titled this blog with a line from a J Cole song. However, after this past year of my life, this quote hits home for me.
Exactly one year ago, I was a college graduate with a full time job living in New York City. I had made new friends, was living on my own in the big city, and had a boyfriend. Seemed like I had it all right? I thought so too, that was until my job became really overwhelming, my boyfriend of 5 years broke up with me, asked me to move out, leaving me with an extremely tough decision to stay and find a new place to live in New York or walk away from my first real job and city life and move back home. After going back and forth it seemed as if I really had no other option than to walk away from my job, New York City, and head back home.
Heartbroken was an understatement. I can vividly remember packing all my things and riding the train home alone with tears streaming down my face. It wasn’t just the end of a 5 year relationship, it seemed like the end of everything. I walked away with no relationship, no job, and no confidence. All of my friends had jobs after college and weren’t living at home. After a few weeks of moping around the house, my parents sat me down. They explained their sympathy for me, but also said that I can’t let this define me. They told me that I needed to apply for jobs and start doing things to get me out of this slump I was in. So after my little wake up call, I applied for any and every job just to get my mind of my heartbreak. The one and only job that responded was UPS, where I was hired to be a package runner for the holiday season. (I WAS NOT EXCITED) This meant that I rode on the side of the truck and had to sprint out of the truck with the package, and then sprint back to the truck. I probably ran about 6-7 miles a day! Needless to say, working for UPS was an extremely humbling job. I went to work everyday feeling down and out about my situation, but as time went on I realized how even delivering a simple package to someone for Christmas made their whole day. It was then, my attitude started to change. I stopped feeling sorry for myself, and starting enjoying delivering packages to my regular customers.
Feeling empowered with my new attitude, I then got a waitressing job and also worked as an assistant wedding planner. Things started to pick up for me- and then I heard about the Sport Changes Life program. I figured why not apply since I had nothing holding me to New York and thought how amazing it would be to have basketball back in my life again. When I got accepted to the program, I new it was going to be an amazing year.
I didn’t write this blog to share my sob story with you all. I wrote this because exactly one year ago I felt like my world was crashing down on me, and now exactly a year later, I am happier than I have ever been. These past four months living, coaching, playing, and going to school in Ireland are more than I could have ever imagined. As I sit here writing this blog a few hours before my flight back home for Christmas, I am reminded of my time working for UPS and how far I have come since then. It’s amazing how things can change within the course of a year, and what seems like the worst situation in the world at the time, can really lead to the best times of your life. Maybe you don’t agree, but I firmly believe that everything happens for a reason. People come into our lives to teach us things we need to know, the lowest of times help us to appreciate the good times, and sometimes one door has to close in order for a better one to open. If I had to re-live this past year all over again, I would do it all again, go through all the pain and heartbreak to experience the happiness I have felt these past four months here in Ireland.
