On Friday, 6th July I received some news which, at the time, felt like the worst news I've heard in my life. Whilst at work, I had come into contact with someone who had tested positive for covid-19.
Why was this such a major blow for you, Ashleigh? Well, on the 7th of August, I was supposed to be attending a rugby trial that could have launched my career, a trial for the Exeter Chiefs centre of excellence.
I was absolutely devastated, I can't even begin to describe how I was feeling, the only way I can put it is by saying I was well and truly gutted. Knowing I'd missed out on the opportunity to show what I'm capable of, and knowing my friends/teammates would be going to the trials made me feel so, so hurt inside and left me feeling empty for about a day or two.
Then, the realisation hit me. There was no possible way I could attend these trials, so I needed to learn to accept that. I spoke to the organisers of the events, and they reassured me that they would come and see some of my games in the next months, so the trials weren't the be-all and end-all.
I already know that I've grown from this experience, I now know my priorities over the upcoming months - to work on my general fitness, but also target certain areas of the game that are specific to my position, for example, kicking or passing.
Rewatching the Olympics over my isolation has also made me realise, I want to go to Paris 2024 in rugby 7s, if you dream it, you can be it, so I'm going to train hard, work smarter and hopefully improve my game.
If you're reading this and have been hit with a struggle, keep pushing, if you want something enough and work for it, your time will come.
That's all for this week!
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