My journey really began before I was born. It may seem strange, I know. I am the youngest of four. I have an older brother who is seven years older than me, a sister who is five years older, and another sister who is three years older. Leading up to my birth, my brother and dad were fixated on the idea that this baby would finally be a boy. My dad grew up with two sisters, and he hoped his son would have the experience of having a brother that he never had.
So, on June 1st, 1998, when a brown-haired, 9-pound, 1-ounce mammoth of a baby girl was born, the only words my brother had were, “Uh oh, Dad, that’s not good.” That didn’t stop him from treating me like one of his own. I became the mascot of any team he was on, the catcher for his pitching practice, his Xbox competitor, and the little engine that could on his pick-up stickball team. I look back and wonder just how my brother did it. I mean, what do you do when your little sister is playing pick-up basketball and can’t understand why she can’t be on the skins team with you?
Needless to say, my brother became my best friend and my biggest role model. When he was happy, I was happy, and when he was in pain, I was in pain. So, when too many concussions forced him out of football and into the game of golf his freshman year of high school, I wasn’t going to let him enter this new venture alone. Our love for the game started at Tee’s driving range. He and one of his friends were going to hit a few balls, so, per usual, I tagged along. I didn’t know much about golf at the time, but what I knew then was that I loved standing next to my brother and trying to hit the ball as far as he did. Time flew by, and the balls went flying. Long story short, we ended up in the office of Tee’s driving range, calling our mom to explain how we were never allowed back because we were caught picking up balls from the range and hitting them again. And so began our addiction.
As we bounced around from driving range to public courses, my dad was going through the application process to join a golf course just up the street from our house. Yes, our growing passion for the game was a motivating factor in acquiring this membership, but the tipping point came down to daughters. My dad realized three daughters meant three weddings. So, he figured, why not kill two birds with one stone? He joined the club to foster our love for golf and invest in a potential wedding venue.
Well, a wedding venue was not at all on my mind. All I could think about was how Ryan and I could drive five minutes up the road and play golf whenever we wanted! And that’s exactly what we did. We hit balls on the range, we chipped, we putted, we walked, and above all else, we talked. We talked about golf, we talked about sports, we talked about our sisters, we talked about life, we talked about our dreams, and everything under the sun.
Ryan played golf for the rest of his high school career and took a gap year after high school to hone his skills. He went on to play club golf at the University of South Carolina, and after graduating, he played professional golf. His career in professional golf eventually led to the creation of Golf and Entrepreneurship Magazine. Since then, he has developed his own marketing and advertising agency, Walker Media.
As for me, I am at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in my final season on the Women’s Golf Team. When I graduate, I plan to pursue my dream of playing professional golf. I am majoring in Advertising in the Hussman School of Journalism and Media, and I hope to use my journey through professional golf, combined with my skills in digital media, to help inspire others, just as my brother has inspired me.
To conclude this lifelong story, which I’ve condensed into a short blog post, I hope you walk away with a warmer heart and a lesson. No, the lesson isn’t about taking the bad news of not having a brother and making your sister the closest thing to a brother possible. The lesson is about role models and following their lead. My brother has shaped my life in more ways than I could ever explain. You could say I still follow in his footsteps to this day. We all have the opportunity to lead someone toward chasing their dreams. Journeys are rocky, and nothing is better than having someone pushing you forward when you can’t muster the strength to keep going yourself. To all older siblings, I hope you have a positive influence on your younger siblings. To the younger ones, listen to your older siblings. If you’re like me, you didn’t want to admit at a young age that they knew more than you, but they do. Accept it and embrace it.
Lastly, thank you, Ryan, for letting me be your “brother.”