May 15, 2017

The tattoo on my arm reads `this too shall pass.’ … It means there will always be an `up.’ You can’t stay down forever.

Taylor Williams

“Having my mom there for my last home games was very important to me. She was beaming with joy. I was super excited that she could make it, along with my dad and my sister. I realized through my other classmates how much of a support system they have. Having her there inside the stadium was a dream come true. I got butterflies because she got to see what I do on a daily basis.

My mom means the world and more to me. She is such a strong person. I look to her for guidance. Just seeing her go through so many obstacles and struggles, it makes me relieved to know that I can go through anything.

I do think about the person that caused her accident. I think about how different our lives could be. Just getting to find out who did it would bring a little peace to the Williams family. I think about it just about every time I talk to my mom on the phone. I know she is still hurting from it. It makes me very angry. At the end of the day, I think about how blessed I am to have a mom.

Before the game, I told my mom I was so excited to have her there. I hugged her and kissed her. I told her I loved her. Having her there made me a little more anxious. I wanted to do a lot more since she was there in-person to watch.

I did look at her in the stands during the game. There was a time in the game where they were playing the Jackson Five over the P.A. between innings, and Tiara Duffy and I were in the outfield dancing. I looked in the stands, and my mom was doing the same moves.

I looked at her before each of my at bats as well because it was so surreal that she was actually there. Of course I could hear my mom when I was batting because she is the loudest person out there. I heard her all the way from left field, too. I heard my mom when I made a running catch out in left field that day. She was yelling `stay on your feet 8. Stay on your toes!’

The tattoo on my arm reads `this too shall pass.’ I look at it before I have an at bat. I look at it when we have our meeting in the outfield each inning. I look at it probably ten times during the game and probably about ten other times daily. It means there will always be an `up.’ You can’t stay down forever.

I’ll graduate in December. My mom and dad will be here for that, too. It’s going to be so exciting because I am the first in my family to graduate from a Division I college. I know how proud she is of me. Just getting to walk across the stage and receive my diploma, and see my mom cry with tears of joy while my sister and my dad scream for me, is going to be incredible. I can’t wait.”