When freshman Jenna Ryan arrived at Moraine Valley in the fall, she expected to play on the basketball team. When the season was altered due to COVID-19, she was able to compete on the Cyclone volleyball team before basketball started. She has always been involved in sports, and her tight-knit family has always been there in support and as inspiration. Here is her story.
My parents inspire me to be the best I can. My dad was a Chicago police officer my whole life up until two years ago when he retired, then he started working in security. My mom is a business owner. Seeing them both work so hard is the reason for the hard work I put into sports. They have always been by my side for whatever extracurricular activity I have joined. Together, they have helped me balance school and fun. They have always been my No. 1 fans at every sporting event and always wanted the best for me. As an athlete, doubting yourself happens all the time, and my parents are always the ones who pull me out of those holes. Without them, I would not be the student-athlete I am today!
Throughout my life, I have been part of countless sports. From kindergarten to fifth grade, I was a competitive gymnast. Practices were around four hours every day. Around fourth grade, I started playing basketball and absolutely fell in love. I started playing travel basketball along with club volleyball. As I got older, club sports started getting more intense. I had to pick one sport to focus on, which was basketball. Then I could join any other one as long as it didn't interfere with travel basketball. In grammar school, I played basketball, soccer, golf and volleyball. High school was when school and sports became a job. In high school, I played volleyball freshman year, swim sophomore year, golf senior year, lacrosse three years and basketball all four. Volleyball, golf and swim were fall sports so they were easy to maintain and did not interfere with anything. Travel basketball starts right when school basketball ends, so while I was playing lacrosse I would have practice right after school then drive straight to Southland Center where my travel ball practice would take place. It got crazy at times, but I always loved keeping myself busy. Playing sports inspired me to be an even better student. My parents were always strict about school. The rules were: bad grades, no sports. It helped me establish a line between school and sports. Now as a first year at Moraine Valley, I am on the basketball team, which was initially canceled due to COVID. Luckily, Moraine Valley has volleyball, so I tried out for the team and made it! I think sports helped me so much. I am great with time management because of my crazy schedules; I work great in a team setting and just love being around people in general. Sports and my family inspire me to be a better person all around.
For my basketball playoff games senior year, my family made shirts. It said "Ryan, #11." My mom, dad, brothers and cousins wore them. It was hilarious. Then for senior day, my family had a big fat head picture of my face [on a stick]. That also was hilarious. The head just made me laugh, and honestly, I played pretty well. They love trying to embarrass me.
I grew up as the only girl with two brothers. We all are pretty close in age and being the youngest cousins in our family, we had no choice but to always hangout with each other. That was never a problem though because we all are super close. Having two brothers, who also were athletes, made me a tough and competitive person. Both play football and were linemen, so yeah, they are big guys. I am pretty small compared to them, but I still can take them on. They got the muscles, but I got the speed. I always loved having two brothers because they always look out for me, pretty much my bodyguards, and they are the funniest guys I know. My mom is a big family person, and she always emphasized how important family is since we were kids. My mom always says, "Friends come and go, but family is forever." Thanks to my mom, our family is very close. I am so thankful for them.
When I was in seventh grade, my mom's mom, who we call Tata (grandma in Arabic), moved in with my family because she was diagnosed with dementia and could no longer live by herself. That never bothered any of us because Tata is the funniest, most loving and strong woman you could ever meet. We all love her so much. As years passed, her dementia kept getting worse. It was really hard to see that happen to her because it is such an awful disease. Tata fought very hard, but sadly, in April of 2020, she passed away.
Everyone in our family helped take care of Tata. It was never a burden; spending time with Tata was a blessing. We just could not leave her alone because disorientation is a common symptom of dementia. She would forget where she was and just walk out of the house or try to go back to her hometown in Syria. My mom and aunt tried to keep Tata's life as normal as possible. I was very close with Tata. She came to all of my sporting events whether it was cold or hot out. She was my No. 1 fan and best supporter out there. All my teammates and friends knew who she was and adored her. They respected and loved her like she was their grandma. That meant a lot to me.
Tata was a rock in our family; she pulled us all together. She showed us how important family is. A strong family bond means everything to me. Whenever I make a mistake, my family always picks me up. When I achieve something great, they are the first people to congratulate me. Even when I doubt myself, my family always helps me realize what great things I can do. They always strive to bring out the best in me. My family is the most important thing in my life, and without them I would not be who I am today.