This is a page about gratitude…

I spent a lot of time in my 20’s and early 30’s grappling with fear and indecision, paralyzed by uncertainty and unwittingly clinging to my misery because it was what I knew. Although I had friends and sports and a wonderful family and a lot of privilege, and although I had a lot of fun and even got a lot done, I spent a lot of time unhappy. Looking back, I see that it was easy to give in to the safety of the suffering I knew and to live a life that appeared, from the outside, to be vibrant and interesting while on the inside it felt vaguely - or sometimes deeply - unsatisfying. The truth is that I was afraid to really live.

Here’s the thing, though: Without fear, there would be no courage, and there’s an important truth about courage: It is not a solo operation. Think about all of your favorite superheroes. They each have their own journey, but when stuff gets real, they almost never save the day - or the world - on their own. They need their bad guys and their existential crises so that they can discover what they’re made of; they need each other in order to triumph. I’m not saying that we all need to be heroes; what I am saying is that if the Avengers needed each other, if Batman needed Alfred, if Frodo needed the Fellowship, what makes us think we can or should face our own trials alone?

True bravery lives inside of us; it is given a chance to manifest through both collaboration and opposition, by those that love us and those that don’t, those that support us and those that try to tear us down. It is catalyzed by the systems that challenge us to discover and then stand up for what we believe in. Real courage - and real living - means being self-aware, vulnerable, and open to possibility. It means seeking and asking for support, encouragement, accountability, inspiration and strength from our friends, family, teachers, coaches, and even strangers. This courage, the courage of vulnerability, is much harder to exercise and much less certain than going it alone, but I can tell you without a shadow of doubt that the lone wolf is, more than anything else, lonely. We are first and foremost social creatures, and like the wolves, we need our pack.

So, in that spirit, I want to take the opportunity to express intentional and special thanks to the people who have helped me become who I am, and who reflect back to me the person I want to become. You are my family, my friends, my mentors; you help me laugh at the world and myself, you challenge me to be better, you have patience with me, and you encourage me to hold myself accountable to my values, my intuition, and to the greater good. You inspire me, support me, love me, and keep me grounded and humble and mindful while pushing me to keep reaching: Reaching up, reaching out, and reaching down to pay it all forward. You get me through. I will never be alone, because you are all in my heart. My gratitude is boundless.

You are my pack.

  • My indescribably amazing family: My parents Jane and Jon, my #1 sister Zara, my “other” sister Shannon, and the quirkiest, sweetest dog I’ve ever met; his name is Bodie.

  • Laura.

  • Barb and Uncle Doug.

  • Julie, for the great website when I know you didn’t have the time.

  • My high school Classics teacher, Mr. Cicerella.

  • My college history teacher, Professor Nicols.

  • My undergraduate advisor, Dr. Greg Miller.

  • My cohort and friends from Boston University: Bob, Dana, Rob, Cristian, Shana, LB, Lindsey, Liv, Anne, Victoria, Jake, Amy, Kyle, Omar, Parker, Ashley, Jacquie, Rachel, Tyler, Aubrey, Makaela, Simone, Kaye, Olivia, Morgan, Bree, Connor, Bizzie, Riley, and Hannah.

  • My professors, mentors, and staff all-stars from BU: Dr. John McCarthy, Dr. Amy Baltzell, Dr. Michelle Porche, Dr. Devin Atallah-Gutierrez, Dr. Rebecca Shangraw, Dr. Val Altieri, Reggie Jean, Jessica Rouser, and Mike Dennehy.

  • Dr. George Mumford.

  • Martin, Jeff, Katelyn, Jason, and the 2018 MIT Women’s Soccer team. Y’all know who you are.

  • The intelligent, complex, tough, courageous, and honest young human beings at Get Ready/Boston English, especially Joxsel and Lorenzo. I’m speechless.

  • The athletes, parents, and coaches of the Mt. Ashland Racing Association, the Mt. Bachelor Sports Education Foundation, and Summit High School Water Polo.

  • Kim, Dave, Max, and Sam.

  • My excellent Beantown roommates Juan and Kyle.

  • My oldest buds Chris, Noah, Markos, Dustin, and Evan.

  • The 1986 Boston Celtics, 2004 Detroit Pistons, 2014 San Antonio Spurs, 2015 Golden State Warriors, 2018 Seattle Storm, and 2022 Las Vegas Aces. The game played the right way is one of the most beautiful things.

  • The coaches, staff, trainers, and athletes at Southern Oregon University.

  • The Southern Oregon Spartans Hockey Club.

  • The coaches, staff, and athletes at Rogue Valley Soccer Club.

  • The coaches and athletes at RISE Volleyball Club.

  • The athletic training staff, coaches, and players at Rogue Community College and Southern Oregon University.

  • David and Laura, Michael and Martha, Peggy and Rod, Kathy and Barry.

  • The “Inches From Glory” Friday night hoops gang. I hope you’re still keeping it alive.

  • My Brazilian family: Ana, José, and Baixinha.

  • To my counselors and therapists over the years.

  • Mother Nature.

  • To the Haters, y’all know who you are (although you’re probably not reading this). Anyway, thanks for the fuel for my fire.

  • Anybody I left off the list…you’re my people too.