I can't believe that I said goodbye to the rest of my team this morning. Brett and Tori were so sweet and drove me to the airport at 4:15 a.m. for my 6 a.m. flight. That is the sign of a true friend. None of us were ready to say goodbye. It was so hard to say goodbye to those two especially. They were two of my closest friends this summer. I leaned on them a lot during the stressful times and celebrated with them during our triumphs.
I honestly can't believe that it's over. I felt like I was going through the application process forever and the. The anticipation for the internship to start seemed to last for an eternity. Now, as I look back on this amazing summer, I refuse to believe that I'm done traveling from city to city and hanging out with my team 24/7. The weirdest part right now is not preping my book bag for a day on the course tomorrow. When my parents and I got home, I immediately asked my dad if we could go to the driving range. Not only did I miss the smack of the ball as the club hit it, but I never actually got to hit a golf ball this summer. It was fun to go out and attempt to hit a golf ball. I was horrible at it (as in only touched the golf ball 10 of the 50 times I swung the club), but I really do love the sport and want to pick it up!
I learned so much this summer. For starters, I learned about golf. Seventy-five days ago I didn't know that the holes on the greens could move, I didn't know how to write about golf (who carded what?) and I wasn't even comfortable in a golf cart. Now, I can write a golf story in 15-20 minutes flat and I can talk to juniors about their round and actually know what they're talking about. I also learned so much about myself and working in a team. My team is absolutely amazing, but we had a LOT of different personalities. It was hectic and clashed at times, yet we always figured out how to power through an assignment and resolve an issue. I learned when to ask for help and when to work harder to figure things out on my own. I learned to keep and open mind and be a sponge, soaking up as much information as I possibly could every day.
From my host families to golf course staff to the players and their parents, I have met so many amazing people. Since our team was in Louisiana and Texas for most of the summer, we got to see and get to know a lot of the same kids. They're really great kids and are so talented! We were able to see them improve their game and grow as individuals throughout the summer which was rewarding in itself. It sounds crazy, but I'm really going to miss the juniors that I met and got to know, especially the ones that actually laughed at my corny jokes in the starting tent!
My entire team was taking bets on when, not if, I would cry yesterday. I held it together until I got home. I took a nap after my dad and I got back from the driving range. I woke up, sat straight up and couldn't figure out why I wasn't in the backseat of a truck (Friday's were travel and nap days). When I realized that my travel days and the internship were over, I lost it. I couldn't help it. My heart still aches at the thought of leaving my team. We're from all over the country and, while I really want to stay in touch with them as will make an effort to, there's a strong possibility that I will never see them again. It's a weird feeling and a hard thing to come to terms with.
As I look around my room and mentally prepare myself to move back to school tomorrow, I feel so, so blessed. This summer was life-changing. I couldn't have asked for a better experience. I had no clue that I could accomplish so much between 5-11 a.m. I didn't know that I could rock a polo every day and that I could become obsessed with golf. This summer was one of the best experiences of my life and although I am exhausted both mentally and physically, I wish that I could start it all over again tomorrow. It was by far the best summer of my life!
No comments:
Post a Comment