If I could have any super power in the world, it would be to read minds…
March 15, 2013 – I remember this day like it was yesterday. It was the day that the picture I used as my feature image for this blog I am writing right now was taken…It was the day that my high school career would be finished forever…it was the day that I realized I still had no offers…it was the day that I knew would eventually come but it wasn’t the way I envisioned it…It was the day we would lose our state semi final game.
Even though my team and I won the sectionals and regionals that year, losing in that state semi final game made me feel like I let everyone down. I “feared” that what we accomplished that season wouldn’t be considered good enough….
You may ask, “Why am I talking about a state semi final game that happened over 5 years ago?”
See at that moment when we lost all that I could think about was what other people would say and think. Even to this day, my now 23 year old self still struggles with this. I find myself always trying to keep other people happy and at times I forget about keeping myself happy.
My biggest fear in life has always been disappointing people. I always would ask God to give me the super power to read minds because I figured that if I could read someone’s mind then I would know exactly what they expected of me. As basketball players – and even humans – at times we get caught up in trying to “impress” those with power and authority. If we end up not getting playing time or not getting a job we want we often say things like, “They must not like me.” We even find ourselves doing things to try and “Make them like us.” I’ve learned over time that it is okay to disappoint. You are NOT going to please everyone. Disappointment is a part of growth.
No offers, a few schools interested, and a high school career that was finished. I knew my parents didn’t have the money to send me to college. It was now April and every other elite basketball player were signed to go to school. I feared that all of the hard work I put in and all of the time people took out of their lives to help me would all be for nothing.. Would they still be proud of me if ended up at a local community college? I knew that was all that we could afford. Would my mom still be proud of me?
Disappointment, I was becoming a disappointment. Even though I’m sure not everyone thought that, that’s exactly how I felt. The division didn’t matter, I just wanted a scholarship to continue my education and career. Getting scholarships and earning college degrees is very uncommon for people where I’m from. I wanted to be different. I wanted to show them that hard work pays off. I wanted my mom to know that the times she didn’t eat to make sure I did because she knew I had a game to go to was appreciated and I knew that a scholarship would be a huge thank you! I worked out every single day in hopes that someone would come calling. Finally, in early April I started to receive a few phone calls from interested schools and even went on a few visits.
But it was in May that I would get a call from Niagara University, a call that would change my life forever. They asked me to come on a visit where they put me through a workout and showed me around campus. At dinner the head coach would offer me a full scholarship to be a member of the women’s basketball team. So many emotions ran through my head. The moment that I feared would never happen was here – I was going to school for free!
It’s hard for some people to believe because they see the Tiffany that I am now. But yes, I was once in your shoes with the same thoughts facing those same fears. Those fears constantly saying, “Maybe I’m not good enough? Maybe I’m too small? Too slow? What if I don’t make it? Would people think I was a failure?” I didn’t want to disappointment. I knew I gave these people hope. Seeing me play in college would fulfill a dream that they never could. The unknown is something I feared, and it scared me. But it was also something that motivated me to work ten times harder because I knew when the time came, I wanted to be ready.
Now five years later I think back to how I went from someone who sat on the court crying my eyes out after losing on March 15, 2013, to a girl with zero offers and no hope, to a college graduate who is studying for her Master’s Degree and playing basketball in Ireland. What seemed impossible became possible for me so don’t lose hope, keep working as hard as you can, because your offer is coming🙌🏼❤️
