Senior outside hitter Anaiah Boyer wrote a letter to her 17-year-old self looking back on her and her team's journey the past four years culminating in winning the ASUN Championship to make it to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in program history.

Dear 17-year-old Anaiah,
 
I know how much you like surprises, and trust me, you've got a lot of those coming. I also know how you hate waiting, so here comes the first spoiler alert.
 
During your senior season, the last whistle will blow in your final ASUN Conference match and you'll be an ASUN Champion! You'll finally get that championship t-shirt and that picture kissing the trophy you've always wanted.
 
In an instant, all the early morning training sessions, spring conditioning, and tears (lots and lots of tears) will become seemingly worth it.
 
All the times you wondered if any of this was ever going to payoff, if your dreams of making it to the NCAA tournament and seeing Kennesaw State up there on the screen during the selection show would ever come true will become your reality.
 
Before you get ahead of yourself, let's go back to how it all began.
 
As a wide-eyed, lanky, 16-year-old kid, you'll come on your first and last college visit to Kennesaw State University. It'll be a place that you have no interest in because you have zero plans on going to school in Georgia, but all of that is about to change.
 
You will commit with Amariah to be an Owl because it feels like the right place. Despite you and Am planning on going to different schools, this is the place that both of you need to be.
 
It's ok! Just go with it. Sometimes your heart just knows things that your mind can't explain.
 
Fast forward to August 2014, your first preseason practice as an Owl and what is soon to be Amariah's last.
 
Unable to feel her hands and feet due to numbness in both, Amariah will be forced to hang up her kneepads for the season. This will shake you to your core. You'll wonder why this is happening to her and not you? It'll put a strain on your relationship and make you wonder if you made the right decision about going to school together… maybe this would somehow be easier on both of you if you had chosen different schools.
 
Ever since you two were eight and you started playing this sport, you've never seen a game or practice without her, but this will become your new normal.
 
Don't worry, you're surrounded by some pretty incredible people that are going to help you through it.
 
You expected college and volleyball to be tough, but definitely not in this way.
 
With everything happening with Amariah and the fast pace of college, your freshman season will fly by in what seems to be a blur. Amariah will be diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS) and the team will finish seventh in conference and miss the conference tournament.
 
This will drive you. You'll train harder than you ever have. You'll convince yourself that all of the training and workouts will lead you to the NCAA tournament.
 
Spoiler alert! It doesn't and it won't for the next two years.
 
Sophomore year you'll make it to the conference championship game only to lose in three sets to none other than Lipscomb.
 
Junior year, it'll get better to only get worse. You'll win a share of the regular season title and have a bye in the first round of the conference tournament only to lose to Florida Gulf Coast in five sets in the semifinals.
 
After that match against FGCU, senior Fanise Cannon gave a speech about how important we all were to her, making the season ending that much more difficult.
 
She'll talk about how the memories made with one another far outweigh any loss and how the moments we've shared have created a bond that will last a lifetime.
 
You'll suddenly realize that all things come to an end and the end is now closer than ever before…You're now a senior.
 
Your mind will suddenly go back to your official visit when you six seniors were strangers and somehow these strangers became your people. The people you laugh with, confide in, but most importantly play for.
 
These people will become your best friends. You'll have countless pregame dance parties, late night Waffle House runs and too many inside jokes to count.
 
Senior year will come and from the outside all people will see is success, but what they won't see is all the times your teammates encouraged you, motivated you, and picked you up whether or not things were going well on or off the court.
 
For those reasons and so many more, it will mean the world when you see Kennesaw State on the screen during the NCAA selection show. That name represents so much more than just a school, it represents the place that's become your home with all of the amazing trips and memories you've had and the family you had no idea you were joining when you committed, but now can't imagine life without.
 
From when the final whistle blew in the conference championship until Kennesaw State pops up on the screen has been a blur. Suddenly, what this team has accomplished and the amazing journey that it has been hits you all at once.
 
These past four years at Kennesaw will be an absolute dream. There will be hard times, but they will make the good times that much sweeter.
 
Oh and don't worry, you get to keep on dreaming because this journey isn't ending yet. You're on your way to Provo, Utah to take on the Oregon Ducks in the first round in the NCAA Tournament.
 
This means another trip to create memories, another pregame dance party, and another chance to put on that Kennesaw State jersey and battle beside your best friends.
 
Trust yourself and just go with your gut. It has led you to this place and this moment and I want you to enjoy every single second of it because you guys have earned it.
 
I'm signing off now, but I hope I've encouraged and motivated you to keep working hard no matter what. I'm so glad you made this decision four years ago and couldn't be more thankful for the opportunities this program has given me, the amazing people I've met and all of the lessons it has taught me.
 
It's been an honor to be an Owl.
 
Love,
Older, better dressed, slightly more mature Anaiah.

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