{"id":1471,"date":"2025-06-06T18:11:43","date_gmt":"2025-06-06T18:11:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.habitaliaimobiliaria.com\/?p=1471"},"modified":"2025-06-08T08:53:37","modified_gmt":"2025-06-08T08:53:37","slug":"one-day-of-rugby-taught-me-to-stop-chasing-perfection-start-showing-up","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.habitaliaimobiliaria.com\/index.php\/2025\/06\/06\/one-day-of-rugby-taught-me-to-stop-chasing-perfection-start-showing-up\/","title":{"rendered":"One Day Of Rugby Taught Me To Stop Chasing Perfection & Start Showing Up"},"content":{"rendered":"
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I remember growing up when the most popular high school sports for girls were track and field, volleyball, basketball, soccer, softball, cheerleading and cross-country. But Rugby? It was never even part of the conversation.<\/p>\n

So when I was asked by Quest Nutrition<\/a> to participate in an Olympic <\/a>training experience with the United States women\u2019s national rugby sevens team<\/a>, I didn\u2019t hesitate. I was all in.<\/p>\n

Admittedly, I was nervous. However, that changed the moment I received the roster and recognized not one but two women who looked like me. Two Black women<\/a>, smiling from ear to ear, standing tall as part of an Olympic history-making team. My anxiousness gave way to curiosity and pride.<\/p>\n

Rugby has long been perceived as a predominately white<\/a> sport. A 2020 report by The Guardian<\/a><\/em> <\/a>found that fewer than 8% of players identified as Black, Asian or from another minority ethnic background. And if you isolate that figure to solely Black athletes<\/a>? The percentage drops even lower.<\/p>\n

With representation so limited, the challenge isn\u2019t just physical\u2014it\u2019s mental. It\u2019s knowing you\u2019re one of the few. It\u2019s pushing your body to its limits while also carrying the invisible weight of visibility. But it\u2019s also a gift to compete, to create space and to reshape the narrative in real time.<\/p>\n

As two-time Olympian and Bronze medalist Ariana Ramsey<\/a> reminded me after training, \u201cGreat and hard work shapes you into the athlete you\u2019re meant to be. Your willingness to go to practice every day and be consistent is a life skill you\u2019ll always need and use.\u201d<\/p>\n

Those words stuck with me because, as a Black woman athlete, or in my case, a journalist, showing up is only half the battle. It\u2019s never just about the game or profession; it\u2019s about rewriting what\u2019s possible, even when the narrative was never written with us\u2014Black women and many others from historically marginalized backgrounds\u2014in mind. Is it about being seen? Yes, absolutely, but it\u2019s also more than that; the older I get, the more I realize it\u2019s about making sure the next little brown girl sees herself, too.<\/p>\n

Being in the center of it all at Chula Vista Elite Training Center<\/a>, one of the top Olympic training campuses in the country, the game itself challenged every physical limit I thought I knew.<\/p>\n

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It was exciting, yes, but it also sparked something deeper. It created an internal shift from imposter syndrome to embodied power. I began to understand that true strength in all forms isn\u2019t just about physical ability. I missed a few kicks. My athleticism definitely didn\u2019t kick in the way I hoped. And when it was time to race, did I come in first place? Absolutely not. (laughs)<\/em><\/p>\n

But the real win had nothing to do with numbers. It was in letting go of the mental chains, silencing the inner critic and quieting the outside noise that sometimes held me back (and at times continues to do so) in my everyday life. The silent whispers of discouragement, defeat or doubt. The lingering question of \u201cWhat if I\u2019m not enough?\u201d What if things don\u2019t go as I planned? \u201cWhat if I\u2019m not ready or live up to the expectation?\u201d <\/p>\n

That day, I didn\u2019t just show up on the field. I pushed through the noise. And not only did I show up for Dontaira K. Terrell<\/a> in her full entirety\u2014I proved something to myself and no one else. Even if I didn\u2019t make the field goal, land the tackle or run my fastest race\u2014I laughed through it all. No pressure. I was present. I enjoyed the moment. I took what I couldn\u2019t do and turned it into a lesson, not a curveball.<\/p>\n

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When everyone else seems to be gaining momentum, racking up wins or living their so-called<\/em> best lives, it can leave you crashing out and wondering, \u201c<\/em>What about me?\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/figure>\n

It took time to get here. For so long, I carried the weight of trying to be perfect. To be a winner. To overachieve, no matter the cost. That pressure has caused me more harm than good. But letting go of those limiting beliefs? That was the freedom. Who cared if I didn\u2019t catch on as quickly as the person next to me? That was the push I didn\u2019t know I needed.<\/p>\n

If I\u2019m honest, I grew up in a household of excellence. College-educated parents. High-achieving siblings. World travelers. Trophy winners. My older sisters aren\u2019t just entrepreneurs and businesswomen\u2014two are attorneys, and one is an audiologist (in fact, the first Black woman to receive a Doctor of Audiology (Au.D.) degree<\/a> in the Midwest). So, as you can imagine, anything less than my best never felt like an option.<\/p>\n

\u201cGrowing up, I worked really hard but didn\u2019t immediately see the payout, so it kind of made me feel like what I was doing wasn\u2019t worth it,\u201d American\u00a0rugby union\u00a0player Nia Toliver<\/a> said, reflecting on the advice she\u2019d give to her younger self. \u201cBut when I think about where I am now, it\u2019s because of the work I put in. It was a long-term gain\u2014not immediate success.\u201d<\/p>\n

Talk about words that resonated.<\/p>\n

In today\u2019s society\u2014from television to TikTok<\/a>, Instagram and everything in between it\u2019s easy to feel like you\u2019re falling behind. When everyone else seems to be gaining momentum, racking up wins or living their so-called<\/em> best lives, it can leave you crashing out and wondering, \u201c<\/em>What about me?\u201d<\/p>\n

We\u2019re in a microwavable culture. Everything looks instant. But real success? Real alignment? It takes time. And that\u2019s why I\u2019ve had to learn to separate the two to put things into perspective. Just as Maya Angelou reminded us: \u201cAll great achievements require time.\u201d<\/p>\n

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That\u2019s also why I\u2019m adamant about celebrating the small wins. They\u2019re the proof of grit, grind and perseverance behind closed doors. The effort you\u2019re putting in when no one is watching. When the applause is quiet. When the likes on the \u2018Gram are few and far between. I know firsthand that those moments are the hardest.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

It\u2019s about reframing the narrative: you don\u2019t have to be perfect, but you do have to keep going and keep showing up. After spending the day with the team, when it came time to leave the U.S. Olympic<\/a> and Paralympic Training Site, another realization struck me. The roles of coaches, sports psychologists, team nutritionists, personal trainers and the list goes on in rugby mirrored something I\u2019ve come to understand in my own life: your support system matters just as much as your skill set.<\/p>\n

If you want to win at anything on the field or in real life, let me tell you, that foundation has to be solid. That encouragement, that accountability, that belief in you when you\u2019re doubting yourself? That kind of support is top-tier because no matter how gifted you are, you can\u2019t do it alone. To win in this thing called life, both on and off the playing field, you need people who help you stay in the game, even when life is doing the absolute most. <\/p>\n

Like what you see? How about some more R29 goodness, right here?<\/strong><\/p>\n

A Black Girl's Guide To The Austin F1 Grand Prix<\/a><\/p>\n

Can We Just Let Angel Reese Play Basketball?<\/a><\/p>\n

Olympian Allyson Felix On Her Career Post-Podium<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I remember growing up when the most popular high school sports for girls were track and field, volleyball, basketball, soccer, softball, cheerleading and cross-country. But Rugby? It was never even part of the conversation. So when I was asked by Quest Nutrition to participate in an Olympic training experience with the United States women\u2019s national Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1473,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1471","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-fashion"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.habitaliaimobiliaria.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1471","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.habitaliaimobiliaria.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.habitaliaimobiliaria.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.habitaliaimobiliaria.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.habitaliaimobiliaria.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1471"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/www.habitaliaimobiliaria.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1471\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1477,"href":"http:\/\/www.habitaliaimobiliaria.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1471\/revisions\/1477"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.habitaliaimobiliaria.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1473"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.habitaliaimobiliaria.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1471"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.habitaliaimobiliaria.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1471"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.habitaliaimobiliaria.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1471"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}