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There are certain special moments in life you get to experience if you are really lucky. They are the kind of moments where you can say you made it. You can look back at all of your hard work, all of the time you spent dreaming about something, and you can say you finally made it. I think everyone is lucky enough to have this moment, even if it looks nothing like what they initially pictured. The journey has challenges and sometimes the ultimate destination may even change, but nevertheless, we all get these certain special moments to appreciate all we have accomplished.
Today, this tweet came up on my TimeHop. Seven years ago, on this day, I was driving down to College Station with my dad and my sister for (you guessed it) an Aggie Soccer game. Probably a recruiting visit for my sister, 13-year-old me tagged along and found myself at Ellis Field. Being a teenager and a brand-new twitter user, I proceeded to snap a picture of the field during warm up, and tweet it with the caption “So this is kind of the greatest thing ever”. Little did I know how much weight a phrase like that would carry about a place like Ellis and Aggieland.
Now, there was no way 13-year-old Kendall could have had ANY clue what 20-year-old Kendall would be up to seven years later. There was no way for her to know that I would actually be in that exact same town, practicing on that exact same field 5-6 days a week. There was no way for her to know it was the kind of reminder I needed to appreciate everything that led to me being a part of the greatest thing ever. Getting caught up in the destination so much that you forget about the journey happens incredibly often.
Getting caught up in the destination is easy. When you make it to where you are going, it often brings new stresses and an overwhelming sense. Nobody ever really tells you how kinda scary it is when your dreams become reality, and what that truly means. It is easy to get caught up in the stresses, and forget to remember you are a part of the greatest thing ever, whatever that may look like for you. For me, the stresses of preseason and injury tend to blind me from truly appreciating where I am and how far I have come. What is holding you back from celebrating yourself and where you are?
I am in no way saying new stresses and responsibilities are a bad thing; they are of utmost importance for growth and development. It is also beneficial to never be complacent with where you are at, and constantly work harder for more. However, every once in a while, take a step back. Remember the day you dreamed of being where you are today. Remember 13-year-old you coming to realization that this is the greatest thing ever. To those who have made it to the destination, never let go of that feeling no matter what the circumstances look like. To those who are still on their journey – sometimes there is more beauty there than the actual destination. Go find it.
Optimistic thought of the day – tell someone about your journey today. We could all learn a little bit from each other.