A girl chose her education and grades over a sport, not sure if she will go back to it in the future or not.

When Ariana Davis was younger, she wanted to follow in her mother and aunts’ footsteps in doing volleyball, as it brought them joy and a distraction that she wished to experience herself.

“My mom and my aunt did it growing up, I wanted to follow into their footsteps and do something different,” she said. “I wanted to do it so bad because they always said it was so good and could help forget and learn better life skills, making you move out of your comfort zone. Giving you a shot to try new things.”

Ariana soon left the sport after a period of time had passed. She wanted to focus on her grades and go further without as much stress as she was under. Focusing on both was hard for her, and she understood that.

“Kinda, it was a little bit hard, but I did pretty good,” she said. “It was a little bit hard because I would have practice, games, homework, family things, and it was hard keeping my grades up and keeping up in sports. It was difficult to balance both. Sometimes it was easy, but then I’d have a big assignment and it would become difficult.”

Ariana said if she could, she might go back in the future. She liked the sport but didn’t know how to balance her life; it was a comfort for her. Volleyball was that escape for Ariana, saying that if it were to be any sport that made her go back, it would be that old thrill.

“I would go back to volleyball because it was a really good sport and it helped me meet new people, it just made me really active, I guess,” she said. “I would go back fully because it helped me forget what was going on personally and what was going on around me, but it helped me get me out of my comfort zone.”

What came to a wholesome touching moment was that her family supported her decision and helped her every step of the way. The way they explained it, sometimes you can’t always do things for the rest of your life, as you get stuck with her.

“Yes, they do because it told them I had a lot going on and helped me through it,” she said. “They supported me by telling me it was okay to stop doing something and focus on myself, and that it was okay not to be interested. That you can lose interest is normal; it’s never the end of your journey.”

Ariana was sure she wouldn’t go to college for sports, that it wasn’t her thing. She wanted to be something bigger. She wants a bachelor’s degree to move further into what’s needed.

“I would definitely go to college for something other than sports. I would want a bachelor’s because I want to be in the office area as a manager or something,” she said. “I would want to be a bank manager, and I wanted to do it so bad because it’s inside and you get to help with financial issues and learn more about that, and getting to help others with their money, you also get to work alone because I’m not much of a social person.”

When she grows older, she wants to work in an office, but not just that. Ariana wants to be a mother, someone who can teach a future generation her stories and how to thrive.

“I would like to be an office manager, I would like to go deeper, I would like to be a mom,” she said. “I want at least 2 or 3 kids because I have a lot of younger cousins and a younger sibling, and I love to be around them. I’ve always had a dream of being a mom, always playing the role of mother. I love to understand how kids are all that.”

Ariana’s dream setup is someone’s dream, an office you can decorate, organize, and be alone. People easily distract her; she hates messy spaces, and it describes who she is as a person.

“I would like an office area just to keep myself organized and to keep myself focused from worrying about what they are doing,” she said. “I would like to have my own space, but they could be messy and all over the place. I like to keep my stuff organized. I get distracted easily; if they talk loudly, it makes it difficult to keep working.”

Ariana stated how she would always choose education over sports in every lifetime, as education gets you further than most sports could. It’s a low chance to get far when it comes to sports, and she knew that.

“Probably, because education can help you make it farther and helps you understand more than a sport can,” she said. “It just never always thought about volleyball as something I want to do, but after college ball, what do you do after that?”