Oct. 28, 2012
This is the first installment of Laura Antoñana's "Aztecs A La Vista." Antoñana is a sophomore on the women's tennis team from San Sebastián, Spain. In her first article, she is profiling women's golfer Amy Alston.
"GOLF IS LIKE A BAD BOYFRIEND, HE KEEPS BREAKING YOUR HEART, BUT YOU CAN'T HELP GOING BACK TO HIM"
5 a.m. - The alarm goes off. Snooze.
5:05 a.m. - The alarm goes off. Snoo.. not this time. She opens her eyes. Looks through the window. She only sees the deep darkness of the night, but it's time to get up. She puts on her shorts, shoes and visor. She then grabs a towel and a backpack. She ties a bright-colored ribbon around her blond ponytail, picks up her car keys and drives down the empty highway.
5:30 a.m. - It's dark and cold, but it doesn't matter. She is ready to face the day and the scorecard. Good morning golf course! Amy Alston is here!
When Amy Alston's father first handed her a golf club at the age of 3, she never imagined that her destiny would bring her to this daily routine at San Diego State University. If she had known the hard work it entails to get up while everybody else is still immersed in their dreams, she probably would still have held her hands onto that club and kept going on her journey as a golfer.
As a kid she told the judge for the show, "Kids Say the Darndest Things" that she wanted "to be a vegetarian when [she] grows up, just because it sounded like a job for really smart people."
However, now that Amy is a grown up, her biggest passion is not vegetables, but golf. Just like you can't separate the peanut butter from the jelly in a sandwich, you can't separate Amy from golf. They go together, they are a package. The life of this 19-year-old athlete spins around golf and seeing her at the course practicing extra hours is as common as hearing her text message ring tone "It's so fluffy I'm gonna die!!!" This happens all the time.
Alston says, "Golf is like a bad boyfriend, he keeps breaking your heart but you can't help going back to him." The reason she feels this way is because the passion she has for the game overwhelms the pain she feels after a round with too many bogeys.
Born in Sacramento, Calif., and raised in Orange County, this young lady Aztecs' upbringing has contributed to her unique personality.
Forrest Gump, her favorite movie character, is a role model by which she chooses to live her life by. The reason for this is not that she loves running, which she actually enjoys, but the love she feels for God and her other fellows. "Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you are gonna get," Gump said, and this is precisely a quote that perfectly describes Alston's cheery and outgoing personality.
If you hang out with Amy, go drink coffee with her, or even better, go play 18 holes with her, you better come prepared with the right mind set to laugh a lot and expect the unexpected!
"Being normal is boring," Alston says. That's probably the reason why she may show you her famous dance moves to Mary Poppin's "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" song if you see her at the Athletic Center, or she may decide that her skiing impersonation is a better choice that day.
Whatever it is, whatever she decides to do or say, one thing is guaranteed: she will make the people around her laugh, sometimes even tear up from laughter. Amy loves to steal smiles from people's faces. It is her favorite hobby, and there's no question about it, she does not have to put too much effort into it.
Her friend and teammate Rebecca Schneider says, "Amy is an example for other people." Even though there is a lot of competition in between the players on the team, "Amy brings us together. You feel relaxed when you are around her," she adds.
There is no doubt that the Southern Californian is one of those people that are very rarely found. All of those that know her will agree that she spreads sunshine, has her own light, and lights everyone else's day with her infinite happiness and cheery personality.
Even the Aztec women's tennis team has "adopted" her to its roster by nicknaming her "Nueve." To the tennis team, Amy is the ninth player and No. 1 fan, the player that does not play, but is always there cheering and even painting her stomach for matches if the occasion requires it!
Despite the fact that "Nueve" is a very unique individual, you do find very strong similarities between her and her best friend and father, Tony. If the physical differences between this father and daughter would not be as notorious as they obviously are, we could perfectly affirm without fearing for an error, that they are the same person.
Tony has openly stated that, "No one makes me laugh like Amy," and when you see them together you can see right away there is a very strong link of affection, love and admiration between father and daughter. Amy gets the guidance, support, strength, protection and care that every girl needs from her father when things are not going right. Tony likes to say he is Amy's "passion protector and dream facilitator." He is the one who protects his daughter's passion and tries his best to make her dreams come true. This is certainly a great description for a perfect relationship between a father and daughter.
There is no question that Amy has picked one of the most mentally demanding individual sports. Golfers play 4-to-5-hour rounds, and they only have themselves to get the job done. If things go bad it is their fault. If things go well it is their achievement.
However, when "Nueve" faces the golf course, she knows she is not alone. She knows a lot of people are rooting for her, cheering for her and hoping she will hit a great next shot.
Amy has earned a spot in everyone's heart, and when she hits her driver, it is not just her doing so, but all of the Aztec family doing it with her through the entire journey of an 18-hole round.
LET'S GO AMY!