FIRST LOVE

I started playing basketball when I was 7 years old.

I was raised watching Utah Jazz games with my family, everyone yelling at the screen while Kirilenko and Harpring won and lost basketball games. I yelled along with them.

One cold day in my very small hometown in the rocky mountains I packed into a puffy coat and my brother took me down to the park to teach me how to shoot a basket.

My small hands were cold as he taught me how to hold the ball, square up, bend my knees and shoot.

I remember taking off my jacket after missing a few (lot of) shots and as I drained my first few, my brother egged me on “now that the jacket’s off, she’s on fire!”

Even though I know I was only a couple of feet out, it felt like I was hitting three after three.

And that’s where it started.

I was immediately hooked. I was a pretty anxious kid, but playing basketball helped me develop patience and strength. Steve Nash was my absolute hero and, truth be told, 5th grade Rae can be quoted in her infamous short story How the Cheetah Became So Fast listing her lifelong dreams as: "Maybe get married, meet Steve Nash, then die." 

The court was my truly my home, my teammates were my family. Basketball was my first love.

Even though I ultimately gave it up, that love has never faltered. Even through struggles now, I remember what my coaches told me when I was 13 years old: "Count the makes, not the misses."

I think that's a big reason I've been able to stay as optimistic as I have. The stories of our lives are not comprised of what we missed, but what we make for ourselves and for the people around us.

5 for the fight

I don't think there's a single person out there that hasn't been affected by cancer. 

My first exposure to it was when I was 8-years-old and my sweet, sassy, and wonderful grandma Barbara passed away from the disease. She was a fighter, that much I remember, but when she was laid to rest I struggled to make sense of it. 

She left me my first journal and I've kept one ever since.

Throughout the years I have seen family members and friends diagnosed and continue the battle. I'd like to see the hurt stop.

I first heard about 5 For the Fight through a campaign led by point guard for the Utah Jazz, Ricky Rubio. I was inspired by his story. It helped spark the realization that I could actually do something, as opposed to just talking about it. That I could assist in making progress. And the truth is that our voices go so much further when we put them together, so that's how this project was born. 

I'd like us all to stand together. 

BUT REALLY, WHO ARE YOU?

Since you asked nicely, my real name is Rachel, but if we're friends you probably call me Rae. 

I work in the thrilling world of Information Technology. I'm tech support, but I'm not the one that you call and hate talking to, I'm the nice one who just wants to fix your issues as quickly and painlessly as possible. 

Apart from basketball, I love to write, read, do yoga, sleep. I have watched the show Parks and Recreation once or twice (or more) all the way through and I think it's potentially the perfect TV show.

I love people. 

I want to see folks support each other a little more.