It’s fair to say that this year has been one of the most challenging, not only for me but for everyone. Who could have predicted that our world would be faced with a global pandemic? It was really hard to see it coming... I also had to deal with the incredibly personal loss of my biggest supporter, my mum.
In Part 2 of my Olympic Diaries, I spoke about being on such a high when softball was reinstated to the Olympic Programme and we qualifed for Tokyo 2020, it felt like a dream, but as 2020 wore on, COVID-19 changed the entire world.
During this year, I’ve had a lot of time to reflect and I believe I’ve gained more perspective on the importance of living a purposeful life.
The sport of softball has always grounded me, it’s always been an escape. but when you see, hear and read about all the horrible events that this year has brought, I can’t help but stop and think about the importance of life and how valuable it is to live it to the absolute fullest. Life is a gift.
Throughout this year, I’ve been asked this question more times than I can remember, “How have you been dealing with the Olympics being postponed and do you think they’ll even happen next year?”
I remain positive and optimistic that they will because that’s just who I am as a person, however, I completely understand we can only control what we can control.
Thinking about my Olympic dream keeps me motivated and hungry.
The prospect of being there and winning gold with my teammates is what drives me every single training session.One of my favourite things to do, is visualise these moments.
I’ll visualise hitting in the winning run with two strikes, two outs and loaded bases in the bottom of the 7th inning, or I’ll visualise one of my teammates hitting me in from second base for us to win the gold medal.
I visualise standing on the podium and singing the National Anthem with a gold medal around our necks.
I also like to visualise when things don’t go to plan, striking out, dropping catches, throwing the ball away.
Some might find that strange but I think it’s important to visualise how you might feel in all circumstances.
It’s all part of the preparation process for me.
This year has taught me to be patient, it’s taught me about sticking to the process and it's taught me about acceptance, being patient in the quest for glory and accepting the way things are.
Reminding myself to stick to my processes and routines creates a sense of normality and that carries over into my personal life.
One of the hardest things I’ve personally faced this year has been uncertainty. My Mum had been fighting a cancer battle since 2017 and just last month, she passed away.
As heartbroken as I am, I still feel so very blessed that I was able to spend lots of quality time with her, as she put up an amazing fight to the end.
We spent the last three months of her life so closely, which I am so grateful for and going through that with my mum, made me realise that no matter how uncertain things may seem in the world and no matter how challenging this year has been, it’s so important to be thankful and appreciative of all the people and things that make our lives what they are.
We also need to keep reminding ourselves of how great we are, that’s why I try to get up every morning feeling grateful for what I have in my life.
I’m looking forward to what next year brings and hopefully I can look back on 2020 and say this all happened for a reason, that it was all meant to be a part of my journey... and if I do make the Olympics, mum is the one I'll be playing for.
