But after everything, I would not take back a single moment. Because after all of the sore muscles, the shin splints, the poles to the face, the late nights, the mental blocks, and the hard workouts, this sport has given me so much to be thankful for.
As a pole vaulter, it is rare to have a large team from your own school. I love my school and my team, but they don't have a pit or anywhere for me to train.
I had to go and find a home for myself elsewhere. Track and field in essence is an individual sport, unless you're a part of a relay. Usually as a vaulter, we are alone with the pit pushed off to the side and no one paying attention. The few friends that you find, you cling to. And you make a family. My team, made up of many different schools, became where I belonged. They became my support system, my home away from home. Katerina Adamiec (Poway), Ashley Callahan (Rancho Bernardo), Melodie Quiroz (Rancho Bernardo), Maya Grudman (Sage Creek), and Rose Wagner (Fallbrook) have truly become more than just my team, they became my sisters.
The lifelong friendships that I have made, the memories that will never fade, and the successes that I have found make it all worth it.
So thank you, pole vault, for allowing me, and many others like me, to maintain our childhood belief that we can, in fact, fly.
