I grew up a total tomboy. I was “that girl” who played touch-football with the boys during recess in the 5th and 6th grade.  Sports have always been an important part of my life from tennis, squash, running, swimming, basketball, ping-pong, badminton, bowling, darts to softball. I don’t discriminate against any sport and generally, I think I’m not so bad at any of these. However, I must admit my weakness: I’m a terrible golfer.

This is surprising, considering that I come from a line of excellent golfers. My mom and my aunt are both very good golfers; my aunt (also named Julie) is constantly winning golf tournaments out in Arizona like it’s her job. Yet, somehow, this lovely sport was lost on me. 

Nonetheless, I am very excited for Wake Up Narcolepsy’s Second Annual Golf Outing this coming Tuesday, May 18th, at the lovely Wachusett Country Club in West Boylston, MA (outside of Worcester)!  The format will be a four man scramble, with a long drive and closest to the pin hole contest.  In addition, there will be a buffet dinner, silent auction, and awards presentation at the conclusion of the day.

So although the title of this blog post is “Ready to Golf!”, that was misleading. I’m sorry. Maybe next year, but for now, I think its best for everyone’s safety that I opt out of the golfing part of this outing. Instead, I will be assuming my favorite role as official paparazzi, zipping around the greens on a golf cart with my camera — an equally scary proposition. I’m 26 and still get a thrill from driving a golf cart? Always a child at heart.

Below are a few pictures from W.U.N. ‘s First Annual Golf Outing. This event was a total success, raising an outstanding $25,000 towards finding a cure for narcolepsy!

One of my favorite memories of last year’s outing was a conversation I had with one of the golfers (a cute boy about my age). After some small talk, he asked me, “So what’s your connection to Wake Up Narcolepsy?” (as I was clearly not dressed to golf).

For the first time, I responded without hesitation, “Well, I have narcolepsy actually.” He followed up asking me how this affected my life, etc. This turned into a nice informative conversation for him and something even more important for me.

For the year and a half prior to this, I had kept my narcolepsy very private, only disclosing it when necessary to friends, family and others when the time was “just right.”  Yet, this was the day I started speaking up… and I haven’t stopped talking since. Now, it’s hard to imagine my life any other way.   
  
I look forward to seeing some of you on Tuesday, and as always, I will report back here with pictures and stories.