My teammate Kalley Armstrong (Army) recently wrote a blog
about me and my roommate, Marissa Gedman. It inspired me to want to start
blogging again so here I am, finally sitting down and putting my thoughts on
paper. When I first sat down at my computer this morning, I struggled to think
of something to write about. Mostly because there is simply so much I could
write about. I’m about to begin my final semester of college. I have a million
things I could say and reflect upon. How can I possibly choose just one? Well,
because it’s so difficult, I’m going to really make an effort to blog a lot
more throughout my senior spring. The goal will be to reflect and share my
stories from my college experience before I graduate and the memories begin to
fade. But first, I think I want to write about the people who have made the
memories possible: my parents.
Now, I’ll begin this by saying that of course there a ton of
people who have played a variety of important roles in my life, but no one has
experienced the challenges and joys of my journey like my family has. I once
asked my dad if he ever in a million years thought that I would be going to
Harvard. His answer actually surprised me. He said something like, “You’ll
realize this when you have kids, but the second your child is born, you think
they’re going to be the President of the United States someday.” I always
thought that was a really cool way to view things, but it wasn’t until recently
that I realized it was that mentality that my parents had that helped me get where
I am today. Growing up, I rarely doubted whether or not I would get what I
wanted in life because I had been trained to believe that I was capable of
anything and everything.
That isn’t to say that the road was always a smooth one. My
parents and I have had our disagreements. Everybody does with his or her
parents at some point. But I’ve realized that a really cool part of growing up
is getting to reflect back on those challenges and recognizing that every fight
I’ve ever had with my parents was born purely out of their love for me and my
brother. My dad always says that when someone you love is upsetting you or
doing something you disagree with, those are the moments that you hug them that
much tighter. It isn’t always easy to do that, but it was that mentality that
got me through some really challenging times when I was making decisions that
were not going to get me any of the things that I had been dreaming about my
entire life. I remember those times often and make sure to constantly hug my
parents as tightly as they hugged me even when I probably didn’t deserve it.
Another amazing thing I learned about my parents is their
philosophy on raising children. Last year when I was taking the year off from
Harvard to play on the Olympic team, my Harvard teammate/ roommate, Marissa,
wanted to interview my family for a project that she was doing for school. She
asked them what they felt was the number one reason for their success as
parents and their answer was simply, involvement. My parents had been together
for over 10 years before they finally got married and their reason for tying
the knot was that they both felt ready to have children. The main thing that
they agreed on was that after they had kids, their world was going to revolve
entirely around their children. I’ve always known this, but when they answered
Marissa’s question, I thought it was interesting because my dad said, “I wanted
to be fully involved in my kids’ lives because that’s how my parents raised
me.” My mom however, said that she wanted to be involved in her kids’ lives
because she didn’t grow up with that kind of support, particularly from her
dad. Don’t get me wrong, my mom loved and always did love her dad, but sadly it
took him until much later in his life to realize that family is the most
precious gift this life has to offer. Fortunately for me, I was able to know
him during the later years and I will always remember him as the kind, caring
and loving grandfather who would have done anything for me. Anyway, the reason
I say all of this is that my mom made a choice. She recognized something in her
life that she wanted to be different for her kids and so she changed it. Not
only am I thankful that she made that decision, but I learned that day that no
matter what, no matter when, you can make a difference in your life and the
lives of others.
There are a million other things I could write about my
parents, but then I’d be here all day. I could talk about my dad’s creativity
or my mom’s selfless heart. I could talk about all that they do on a daily
basis to inspire me to be a better person. But I think instead, I’ll end by
talking about the most important thing my parents have ever taught me: family
first. No matter what I do, no matter where I go, no matter what mistakes I
make or successes I have, my family will always be there for me. That’s not to
say that other people won’t be a significant part of my life, but there is
nothing more eternal than family in my household. And for that, I am so so so
incredibly grateful. My world revolves around Team Fry and our success as a
group. We are each other’s biggest fans and we push one another to be our best.
Without Team Fry, I wouldn’t be where I am today. I have been able to
accomplish more than I ever believed to be possible because they were there for
me. So today, I hope you remember that no matter what, family first.
