Taylor McQuillin, the 2015 pitcher from Mission Viejo, Calif., has had a great 2014—she won a high school national championship with the Diablos of Mission Viejo High, a club national championship with the OC Batbusters and the Gatorade National Player of the Year Award—and that was prior to the start of her senior season.

In her latest blog, Taylor details her gratitude and appreciation for the key people in her life, particularly her immediate and softball families!

“Today I am going to dig a little deeper and explain why I am thankful to live the life that was given to me,” the Univ. of Arizona commit begins.

Taylor’s hard work on the field and in the classroom – where she has a 4.0 GPA – is evidenced by her being ranked as the No. 3 rated prospect in the 2015 class.

Perhaps Taylor’s greatest accomplishment is she has done all this despite having to overcome birth defects making her completely blind in the left eye and with only partial hearing on the left side.

Be sure to check out Taylor’s previous blogs and those of our other standout bloggers!

Video of Taylor receiving the Gatorade National Player of the Year

Official Gatorade National POY announcement 

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Beings that it’s Thanksgiving, I wanted to give thanks to the people and the things that have gotten me where I am today.

Most times people just gives thanks to their parents, families, friends, peers, etc. but they never really explain why. In truth, most of the time there are numerous ways in which they are thankful for specific things.

Today I am going to dig a little deeper and explain why I am thankful to live the life that was given to me.

As some of you already know, my father has dealt with health problems for a really long time. Recently, his health had taken a turn for the worse but yet each and everyday he still continues to get up and support our family and participate in each of his kids’ lives.

For this I am thankful because he is not just hanging in there but he is showing me what it is like to overcome major obstacles. My father has taught me what it is like to have strength and pull through during the bad times life has to offer.

I am thankful because he has driven me and motivated me to live my life with a greater meaning; to go out and prove to the world that I am capable of achieving more than average. Today he is, and forever will be, my hero and I am extremely blessed, honored, and proud to be able to say that.

Along with my father, there is also the rest of my family.

My mother dedicates her time to making sure I have the best softball career I can make for myself. She comes to every single game, no matter where it is, and even though she stands as far away from the field as she can—at a distance people may think insane!—she still comes and nevertheless is there supporting me.

There is a saying that “parents live through their children” and my mom is definitely one of those parents. She invests so much time into making sure me and my brother have every necessity we need as well as giving us some of the things that we wish to have as well.

For this I am thankful, because she is the “head” of my support system.

My brother and grandma may not be able to attend every softball game or go to every event of mine, but I am still so thankful to have them in my life.

My grandma dedicates her time to helping at Lake Forest Elementary School where she has 900-plus kids calling her “Grandma Mary” and they actually mean “Grandma.” I truly think her greatest accomplishment in life is working at the school because she spends hours upon hours doing a job that she absolutely loves and she does it for free.

To her it’s not about the money or the possessions, it’s about living her life and being content with what she does as well as making 900 kids smile everyday. Even though she is their “Grandma,” she is mine too and I don’t mind sharing her with all of the other kids either!

My brother is so busy with baseball and his first year in high school that I don’t get to see him as often anymore as I used to. Our schedules are so busy that we are rarely ever home at the same time. Still, I am thankful for the bond that he and I share on and off the ball field

We understand why the other gets frustrated or why we are happy about good games. We support each other with every action and always have good things to say about each other as well. I am thankful to have a younger sibling to teach how to grow up and to try and be the best sister I can be.

Lastly, I wish to thank every single mentor, coach, peer, adult, and teammate, that have helped me on my softball journey throughout the past 11 years of my life.

To be able to say I will be going to college to play softball at an amazing school with an amazing program is surreal and I know that without any of these people helping, guiding, teaching, and supporting me along the way I wouldn’t even come close to being able to live out my dream and have the opportunities that have come my way.

I am so blessed to say that I had each and every one of you behind me during this process and I know that you will continue to support me in college and further on in life as well.

Thanksgiving is a time in which we all give thanks, but really we just open up about the people we are thankful of and the reasons why.

All of the things I have said above should be said each and everyday to the people who make it happen. Sometimes things and opportunities are taken for granted and I definitely will admit to taking these parts of my life for granted at times.

The people who have helped shaped my life deserve to know that I am thankful for everything they have done even if it has been the smallest actions.

One day of the year is not enough and just saying thanks and not explaining why fails to convey what everyone in my support system means to me.

This year I decided to go in depth with my story of thanks and hope all of you enjoy.

Hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving and Holiday Season!

Best wishes,

Taylor