The game of golf has honestly had a bigger impact on my life than I can describe. The impact isn't linear, it's mostly indirect, but it has spread to nearly every part of my life. I'll start with the sport itself. I enjoy golf because it's very mental. I find it so interesting to figure out which club to use, how much to open the face, and how far my backswing should be. It's satisfying how mechanical it can be. You can make the slightest change in your stance or tempo and see a direct result in the spin of your ball. The more important part, I have found, is the part that isn't mechanical: attitude. I have always been a really emotional person, and the most challenging thing about golf has always been keeping a positive attitude. After five years of playing - and a lot of tears, a lot of disappointment, but also a lot of surprising myself - I have developed a way to use my emotions to help me and not hurt me. I can, if need be, even ignore them to an extent. Nothing else in my life has really challenged me in that way. Not everything I've gained from golf is strictly through the sport. Instead, a lot of it has been through my team. Being on a team is an experience somewhere between friendship and family. Something my coach always emphasized was the bond our team had, and we are all so close. Even though I don't have any sisters, I imagine that my teammates were as close as I'll ever get to that. I learned to put in work, not just for my own benefit, but to honor the efforts of my team. Mostly, golf has honestly made me the person I am. It's helped me make friends, get out of my comfort zone, enjoy being in nature again, and learn to enjoy competition. To explain how much it has meant to me, I'll say this: I don't think I've cried so many times over so many days about one thing, over anything else than leaving golf. I was hysterical on Senior Night, my last season meet, my last Sectionals, and my last Regionals. I never would have imagined I would have so much fun playing a sport, but golf really has been a highlight of my life, and I hope to continue playing for the rest of my life.