User:Abbijotaylor/sandbox

Education
I attended Peoria Christian School Kindergarten through 12th grade. Here is where I grew up, made life long friends, strengthened my relationship with God, and got a great education. I was very active at Peoria Christian. I played volleyball, basketball, and softball. Of those three sports, I received 11 varsity letters and many awards such as:

2018: Peoria Journal Star All-Area Team Tri-County Conference First Team All-Conference (softball) Tri-County Conference: First Team All-Conference (basketball) IHSA Three-Point Contest Finalist Tri-County Conference: First Team All-Conference (volleyball) Tri-County Conference: First Team All-Conference IBCA All-State 2017: Peoria Journal Star All-Area Team Tri-County Conference: First Team All-Conference (softball) IBCA All-State 2016: Peoria Journal Star All-Area Team Tri-County Conference: First Team All-Conference (softball) 2015: Tri-County Conference: First Team All-Conference (softball)

I was also involved in Student Council. I graduated #5 in my class as a Sterling Merritt award winner and National Honor Society Member.

Sports Interests
With both of my parents being collegiate athletes sports have always played a major part in my life. To this day, I am still playing softball but I love basketball, volleyball, and baseball. I enjoy watching these sports both at the collegiate and professional levels. My favorite professional Basketball team is the Phoenix Suns. The reason behind this interest is their star player, Devin Booker. He is by far my favorite NBA player. When it comes to collegiate basketball my family bleeds blue and are big Duke fans. Baseball is something my family enjoys watching, and my favorite team is the Chicago Cubs. I will never forget the first time I went to Wrigley Field to watch the Cubs play.

Hobbies
Sports are something that is important to me, but I also have many other hobbies as well. For example, I love shopping. I definitely can "shop til I drop" as some say. Whenever I travel, I typically spend one if not two days shopping in different malls or boutiques. Another thing I love to do is bake. This is something that I have recently taken interest in. Two years ago I found out I am allergic to gluten. This made eating very difficult for me because so many things I loved to eat had gluten in them. I had to do a lot of research but to my surprise there a lot of different gluten-free recipes. I began making them and really found a passion for both cooking and baking. The last thing I love to do is spend time with my friends and family. My family is very close and spends a lot of time together. My friends are just as important to me and every free moment I get I chose to spend it with them

Traveling
My favorite thing to do is travel. I have been all over America, but my two favorite places to travel to are Nashville, TN, and Sedona, AZ. While these two cities are entirely different they are both so beautiful. Nashville screams country music and is busy all the time. My favorite restaurants are found in Nashville, Bar Taco and Jeni's Splendid Ice Cream. I love Nashville because there is always something to do and it truly is a beautiful city. Sedona, on the other hand, is a very quiet mountain town located 2 hours North of Phoenix. In Sedona, there is plenty of places to hike and explore along with the famous Pink Jeep Rides. The Jeep Ride is by far my favorite thing about Sedona. The Jeep Ride begins in the heart of the city and takes you off-roading up several different mountains.

Faith
As I mentioned earlier, I attended Peoria Christian School. This school focuses on education and has a heavy emphasis on religion. I have gone to Church since I can remember and still attend today this day. My faith and relationship with God is something that is very important to me and something I do not take lightly. Each day I spend time learning more by reading my Bible. My favorite verse is 1 Peter 2:21-25 "This is the kind of life you’ve been invited into, the kind of life Christ lived. He suffered everything that came his way so you would know that it could be done, and also know how to do it, step-by-step. He never did one thing wrong, Not once said anything amiss. They called him every name in the book and he said nothing back. He suffered in silence, content to let God set things right. He used his servant body to carry our sins to the Cross so we could be rid of sin, free to live the right way. His wounds became your healing. You were lost sheep with no idea who you were or where you were going. Now you’re named and kept for good by the Shepherd of your souls. "

Health and Wellness
Playing softball, I am constantly moving and working out. Our team practices 5 days a week so fitness is something that is very important in my life. My goal is to become a Registered Dietitian and pursue Sports Nutrition. I've seen first hand how food plays a vital role in athletic performance, and I want to be able to help others in this area also. I try my best to eat as healthy as possible even though it can be very difficult. Overall, this is one of the most important areas in my life because what I do as an athlete relies so heavily on it. I have a passion for Health and Wellness and I hope to help others have the same passion.