Total pages in book: 67
Estimated words: 63124 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 316(@200wpm)___ 252(@250wpm)___ 210(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 63124 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 316(@200wpm)___ 252(@250wpm)___ 210(@300wpm)
That was better than any gaudy trophy.
After getting most of my things set up, Madison pulled me into a tight hug.
“I should get back to Chloe. I’m so proud of you, Leah,” she told me.
Chloe was Madison’s daughter, a cheery and sweet six-year-old. She embodied so many of the good features of my sister from her kindness to her patience. I loved her to death, and I wished that her father hadn’t been such an aggressive, selfish jerk. I was glad that Madison left him, but I hated that she wasted so much of her high school experience being with him.
At least she was happy now.
My chest ached as I realized that I would be away from my mom, sister, and my niece for longer than ever before. They were my biggest source of support, my foundation of motivation. Without them, I wouldn’t have been able to rise to this point, and I just hoped that I could make them proud.
“Thank you,” I said.
“And Mom would’ve loved to have been here too,” Madison reminded me.
I nodded, knowing that was the truth. She couldn’t get off work for the trip, so we had our own goodbye over breakfast for dinner the night before I left. Honestly, it was the best goodbye we could’ve shared.
“Drive safe,” I told her. “Text me when you get home.”
Madison gave me a firm squeeze before letting go and looking over at Jourdanne.
“It was nice meeting you,” she said.
Jourdanne waved goodbye until the door to our dorm room shut. She faced me with an eager expression, standing next to the bookshelf she finally constructed.
“There’s a welcome event happening on campus. Want to go? Have a little fun?” she asked.
I was tired from traveling and getting all of my things put away, but this was the first day of this new chapter in my life. This was my chance to forge the path I always wanted to walk, so I needed to kick it off with a good step forward in the right direction.
“Let’s do it,” I said as I slipped my black sneakers on.
“Awesome!” Jourdanne chirped before heading out of the room.
I followed her and took in my surroundings, reality settling in. For the next four years, this was essentially my new home, my chance at being the person I wanted to be. All I had to do was rally my team, keep my grades up, and not lose this chance.
If I had to drag myself back home in defeat, I feared that I wouldn’t ever find another opportunity to leave and make something of myself. Coldness washed down my back in a chilling wave, prompting me to shudder and hurry up my pace to catch up to Jourdanne.
I couldn’t let that happen. I couldn’t go through more moments of watching disbelief and amusement glint in people’s eyes when I told them about playing hockey or going to Yale for my athletic career. I had seen that look in my own father’s eyes when he shook me by the shoulder and reminded me that sports were for men. Not women.
We weren’t strong enough. Fast enough. Skilled enough.
I was going to make every single person who doubted me eat their words. No matter what it took.
The first week went by in a flash, shuttling me through days full of classes, meeting new people, and adjusting to my new life. I learned how to do plenty of things on my own while growing up since my mom worked so much, but this was a whole new level of independence and responsibility. I had to juggle everything.
In the mornings, I exercised with my team, who were the most talented group of women hockey athletes I had ever played with in my entire life. I spent a lot of time with Anne and Naomi because they were my defenders and my last line of defense against the enemy team. They had my back on the ice and off the ice and were a bit more relaxed than our center and offensive wingers.
But whether they were laidback or serious, they were great teammates. We put the game and the team first, and the level of effort in college was ten times what I experienced from my team in high school. Everyone here was determined to prove themselves and to make the most out of their hockey career.
When I wasn’t doing drills with my defenders, going on runs with our center, Lily, or irritating my wingers by blocking all of their shots during scrimmages, I was being a typical college student. I went to classes all day. Afterward, I did homework and hung out with Jourdanne and sometimes some other people I had met before going to bed and restarting in the morning.
It was a grind, but I worked through every single day, focusing on my grades and the hockey season ahead, especially since practices were about to be thrown in the mix of my busy schedule. I looked forward to getting back out on the ice, though, feeling the chill in the air and hearing the blades of my skates grate against the ice.