My brother, sister, and dad all have played throughout my life. I finally got to start playing in 4th grade on a practice team, but by the end of the season I was playing with the 6th grade team. By 5th grade I played for the 7th/8th grade team. I knew from that point on that I wanted to play in high school and in college. I started high school at a St. Louis public school that didn't have a lacrosse team. My dad found a way for me to play on a near by catholic school's team, Rosati-Kain, in 9th grade. I was in love with the sport. By 9th grade I was helping coach 4th-8th grade girls develop their play. I was fully determined to get recruited as soon as possible and went to as many tournaments as I could. In 2018, after my 2nd Sandstorm tournament, I knew something was wrong with my knees. As soon as our flight landed in St. Louis I insisted that I was taken to the doctor. After a month it was determined that I needed to have major knee surgery. Since it was so close to high school lacrosse season and I had done so well in the previous year I wanted to consider delaying my surgery, however, I had no choice but to have the surgery as soon as possible. My dad tried to help me through the pain of not being able to play by giving me the chance to start coaching high school lacrosse. I coached Rosati-Kain girls during my sophomore season. It was one of the most painful things I have had to do, but I knew I had to stick with lacrosse some how through my knee recovery. After a second surgery and months of recovery I was back to try-outs. I tried out for STL Samurai Lacrosse. It was a team I grew up watching my brother play with and I got the opportunity to try-out for their first female team. I didn't tell the coaches about my knee surgery until after try-outs because I was and still am determined to be a desirable player despite my injuries. I wanted the coaches to see my play without also seeing my injury. I am back and plan on staying. Lacrosse is more than just a sport to me, it is my escape from pain.