Stars Align

It Was Going To Benefit You.

Dani~

Michael Strahan walks to the middle of the stage, holding a black envelope with a gold seal after Drake's short performance. 'Best Female Athlete' shows on the screen behind him. Oh god. Here we go.

Christian removes his arm from the back of my chair and holds my hand. "Continuing on with the night, next up is Best Female Athlete. Now, let me tell you, this nominee list is absolutely loaded. A wide range of sports is represented by these five women. Gymnastics, snowboarding, soccer, and volleyball. All of these women have some sort of national accolade as they represent their respective sports and this country."

"The nominees are Chloe Kim of the US Women's Snowboarding Team. Sunisa Lee of the US Women's Gymnastics Team. Alex Morgan and Mallory Pugh of the US Women's National Soccer Team. Finally, Daniella Campbell of the US Women's Volleyball Team."

Mikayla grabs my other hand as the suspense is quite literally killing me. "While all of these women have quite the stat line, one of them stood out to the academy the most. The one who pushes through hard times. Takes breaks when she needed to. The one who dedicates her life to her sport but also her community and takes pride in everything she does."

"I'm proud to announce this year's winner... For the first time in this sports history, please welcome Daniella Campbell of the US Women's Volleyball Team."

I sit around in absolute shock before realizing I have to go up there and say something. Mikayla hugs me as I stand up. Christian kisses my cheek before I go up to the stage. I pick the train of my dress up as I get to the stairs where Michael is waiting for me. He holds out a hand as I go up the stairs.

Russell Wilson is there to hand me the shiny, silver award as I get to the microphone. I stare at the award in awe as I adjust the microphone, "I'm gonna be honest, I don't know what to say." The room erupts in soft laughter, "This is pretty cool. I didn't ever think I'd be up on this stage and while that's probably normal, it means a lot that I am. I proudly represent my team every chance I get and this, this is pretty damn cool. To my team and coaches, I'm so insanely grateful to be part of this team. Thank you to my family and friends for pushing me to get here. Christian, thank you for always being there and being my biggest supporter 6,000 miles away from me. Thank you."

I walk back with Russell Wilson behind the curtain after my very bland speech. I set the award down on a table and wait to be escorted back to my seat. There's a break in the show and I'm quickly escorted back to our table. Christian looks up at me, stands up, and hugs me. "So proud of you."

"Thank you."

"And the ESPY winner for Outstand Team is... The United States National Volleyball Team. They have recently qualified for the 2024 Olympics. They have won the past three national championships and won the gold medal in Tokyo in 2020."

Lauren, Mikayla, and I head up to accept the award on everyone's behalf. "Although we wish that the rest of our team was here to celebrate with us, we know they're just as amazed, shocked, and grateful for this. Coach Kelly Sheffield is the one who deserves all of this recognition. There is nobody better than our coach and we are so incredibly grateful for his skills, his compassion, and his love for the game of volleyball. Coach, this one is for you. Thank you for everything you do for us and for getting us far. We love you," I say into the microphone. I think I've gotten the hang of this.

We walk off the stage behind the curtain, waiting to go back to our seats. "Dude, you're a natural at this."

"Well, she did just go accept all three of her awards. She should have the hang of it."

"I'm right here and two of them are mine, this one is ours," I say, laughing.

Russell Wilson comes up to us, "You're with Nike. That's why you're so familiar."