Dear Mandurah,

I originally booked a trip to Perth to visit my former teammate and good friends, Jennie and Ryan.

I planned to come visit them since, forever.

I finally managed to save up enough money to purchase a ticket.

Man, that was one of the most expensive things I ever bought. 

But, just imagined if I didn't take that leap of faith. 

Just imagined if I let money hold me back. 

I ask myself that all the time. 

I would've missed out on so much.

How so?

Well, first things first..

You are who you're surrounded by.

For my first week here, I stayed with Jennie and Ryan.

Do I need to say more?

I went from being hesitant and a little afraid of taking risks to just going for it.

Then, figuring out how to work through them.

This requires a lot of patience. 

Yet, I believe we all want to take risks in life. 

But, what stops us from actually taking risks?

The post-production work, the aftermath prevents (scares) us from taking them. (side note)

Back to my story..

So what happened next?

I landed on Wednesday, June 3rd and that night or technically the next day at 2 AM,

Ryan and I sent an email to Craig Watts. (The Head Coach of Mandurah Magic)

I'm not going to lie.

If Ryan wasn't motivating me, I probably wouldn't have done it.

As I thought to myself, "I've done this before and most of time you just don't get a response or the response you want." 

I was afraid of getting rejected, again.

After I sent the email, I was super excited because it was well written and almost hard to deny.

Pretty good email, right?

​But afterwards, I immediately shut down my own excitement because I feared getting my hopes up for nothing.

I remember saying, "Let's just sleep on it. We'll see what happens." (doubting) 

But in that moment, I found the courage to advocate for myself. 

I didn't wait for a call or an opportunity.

I decided to put my name out there, whether I got a yes or no.

"Do you know how valuable you are? You have so much value. " (Thank you, Pam)

"You are a brand." (Thank you, Don)

"Treat yourself like a business." (Thank you, Vee)

With that being said, the very next morning around 6 am, I got an email response and phone call from Craig.

And from there, everything was golden.  ​

​I was in an uniform the very next Friday. 

​We went 9-0. Finishing second in the league.

Every game, I played like there was no tomorrow.

Every game, I felt like I got better. 

I played in front of a packed gym, every home game. 

​I gave you my all. 

​If you seen me play, you probably felt that.

Why's that?

​Because you gave me your all, Mandurah.

​You didn't just give me an opportunity. 

You didn't just give me a chance.

You welcomed me to your family. 

You gave me a brand new car. 

You gave me a host family. (Vee is amazing) 

​You gave me several homes to go to whenever I needed to. (Bree & Milo)

​You gave me clothes and shoes. (only packed one bag of belongings)

​You gave me the most adorable little fans. (Taylah & so much more!) 

You gave me access to a gym, pool and they even sell milkshakes at the gym!!

You gave me so much more than expected. 

​But you know what they all say... - "To whom much is given, much will be required," right?

Actually, 

"To whom much is given, much can be done." - Me

​I say that because I wouldn't have been able to do what I've done without you, Mandurah.

Above, I talked about what you guys did for me physically.

But you guys actually impacted me, spiritually.

You gave me peace.

For the first time in a long time, I felt at peace.

For crying out loud, there is a view of the beach everywhere I turn. 

I felt at peace around the team. 

​I felt at peace on the court, in games. 

I felt at peace in practices and trainings. 

​I experienced the beauty of just enjoying the moment. 

Not worrying about tomorrow.

Just being present in the moment. 

And for that, I am forever grateful for you, Mandurah. 

But I'm going to be honest. 

​I'm embarrassed to share this.

But I totally screwed up. (Sorry Carly, haha)

​Funny but not so funny... (shaking my head)

So, just two days before my departure, I did this..

Thank God for insurance.

​If anyone knows me, they know I'm one of the most careful and slowest drivers, ever. (Craig)

I was doing so well up until this point.

I'm sorry about this, again. 

​Not so proud of it. 

Just thought I should come clean and show the human side of me.

What a great way to end this, right?

But seriously, 

Lastly, I love you all and thank you all for everything. 

​I can't thank you all enough.

Not goodbye.

Not farewell.

But see you again. :)