Rookie Year: Part One
When I asked Jarrell for ideas of topics to blog about, he said I should write about our life in the league so far, and I was shocked when he suggested it. So many people from back home ask me how our life is and have always asked me to share more on social media. I am pretty much an open book, however, I always felt to keep my personal life off of social media as much as possible. But, I think I have learned a good balance between sharing too much and not sharing anything.
So, our first year in the league…. well right now we are both in self-quarantine because of our exposure to the Coronavirus, but I will get into that later. I want to start at the beginning of our journey. I hope that by sharing my story, it will inform the next girl who will go through the same thing as I and will help with the transition from college to pro.
Pre-Draft
As soon as Jarrell played his last game as a Charleston Cougar, the craziness started. Jarrell played in the 3X3U National Championship, participated in the Portsmouth Invitational, had about 12 NBA workouts, scout meetings….. he definitely racked up some Delta miles, while I stayed back in Charleston and worked.
Jarrell was literally gone all of the time, and he had no idea when he would be leaving next or even where to. Growing up, I have always been a planner, just because the unknown used to scare me so much. The pre-draft experience really took that fear away. I never knew when Jarrell would be back home, or where we would be after the draft. We had no clue what our life was going to be like in the next few months, but we just enjoyed the small moments we did have together and were very supportive of each other.
I have always said that if Jarrell was not as level headed and calm as he is, we would not work, because I am the person who over worries and he definitely plays every situation down. Everything also moved so quickly that I did not have much time to stress about anything, plus it was out of our control so there was nothing to complain about. I also have an amazing support system, at the time, I had amazing coworkers and my family and friends were there for me every step of the way. I definitely wanted to be as supportive as I could for Jarrell, but quickly realized I needed some extra support for myself as well.
Advice for Pre-Draft
My advice for the girls that are dating an athlete and are going through the pre-draft experience is to be supportive. The guys are going through a lot before the draft and they do not need added stress. I am not saying ignore your feelings and bury your thoughts, just use proper communication. Also, understand that they do not have much free time or any type of control. They do not know their schedule at all, when an opportunity calls, they need to go. Understand that they are going through a time where they may be gone from their family and friends, so give him the opportunity to spend time with everyone. You know that you are important to him, so just remember that.
After Draft
After a long night of watching the draft, Jarrell was picked at the 50th pick. UTAH. Gosh, I never even thought about Utah, where it was, what they have, nothing. Jarrell and I were planning on going to Disney World* the day after the draft, but Jarrell was asked to be in Utah the following Monday. So, once again, we could not follow through our plans, and I realized that planning anything from here on out would be difficult.
*SN: I LOVE Priceline bet your own price, but if you use it you can’t cancel the trip, so yeah I do not use that anymore haha
After the draft, Jarrell participated in the Summer League in Salt Lake City, and then I met him in Las Vegas for the second part of the Summer League. All of this felt so surreal. Like I honestly still felt normal and did not realize how much our lives had changed. Seeing friends that we made throughout basketball that currently play in the league, and friends that are experiencing the same thing as us was really dope. I am not going to lie I was very eager to meet other women that were going through the same thing as me or have already, so that I could get some advice on what I was about to step into. I did not really meet anyone at summer league, but eventually did find some really nice women over social media.
Jarrell was pretty busy during the summer league, just as the rest of the guys so I had took the opportunity to spend time at the pool and reflect and recenter my mind. A lot of changes were coming and I did not want to be too overwhelmed when they did.
After the Summer League Jarrell was signed to a two-way contract with the Jazz, which means that he primarily plays on the G-League team and is called up for the NBA team throughout the season. It was official, and we were very excited to start our life in Utah.
Moving to Utah
It has always been our plan for me to move with Jarrell after college. Once that time came, I actually became really nervous. I know that some people would just jump at the chance and even though Jarrell and I had been together for 8 years at the time, I just felt that I was making such a big adult decision.
I quit my job, which was so hard to do, and I stayed with my mom for a few weeks. Quitting my job was hard, because I have always been very independent and have worked for everything on my own. It was a weird transition from trusting my situation and just sitting back and letting it work out on its own. I have never imagined a life without working and I do not plan on not working, but for the time being I had to let go of my standards that I had set for myself.
Everything was changing, and I am not great with change but I knew it was for something good, so I just went with it. Mind you, I had just graduated from college, and was still dealing with the transition of post-grad.
Before we moved to Utah we threw a goodbye party, which was really just a chance for us to say thank you to everyone who has supported us along the way. It was great! We had food, drinks, friends, family, a DJ, it was everything we could have imagined and more.
Towards the end of the party everyone was giving speeches, and during Jarrell’s he gave this amazing speech and I kind of knew what time it was, love music started playing and Jarrell asked me to marry him. There really was not a better time to pop the question. Having all of my closest friends and family was a great feeling.
To be 100% honest I was really nervous about moving to Utah without that commitment. I had quit my job, did not have that much money saved on my own, there were just so many things going through my mind. I felt that I needed that commitment to uproot my life in a completely different time-zone. Jarrell understood that and we had talked about marriage a million times before. I do appreciate Jarrell understanding how important it was for me and my mom to have more of a solid commitment before moving to Utah.
The day after our engagement Jarrell had to go to Utah for a press tour and I packed up what was left in our apartment. I was just one week away from moving to Utah…….
