One of the toughest parts about becoming an adult is the realization that life doesn't always have those fairy tale endings you read about growing up.
In fact, life is filled with moments of tragedy - just ask junior Alli Cecchini.
(Full disclosure: Cecchini was just hired by the Alligator's advertising department a few days ago. I had no idea of this until Wednesday night, well after I decided to write this column.)
Cecchini was the backup setter for the UF volleyball team the past two seasons, behind Angie McGinnis, one of the best setters ever to grace the O'Connell Center floor.
This was the year for Cecchini to take the helm. But she won't be taking the court Friday night in the season opener against Alabama Birmingham.
As Cecchini's moment in the spotlight approached, she suddenly wanted to duck into the darkness.
"There were some days I wanted to just sit in my room and be by myself and not be around people," she says.
It's hard to blame her.
Her sister passed away during her senior year of high school. Her best friend, Ashley Slonina, was lost in the tragic motorcycle accident in Oct. 2007.
Alli's parents even moved to Gainesville part-time to help her get through it all.
On March 7, her world came crashing down again.
Coach Mary Wise called the junior into her office and told her that her 38-year-old brother had passed away, leaving her 14-year-old nephew without a daddy.
"My mom didn't want me to be in the car driving or be by myself, so she called Mary and told her first," Cecchini said. "(Wise) was there through all of it, she was crying with me when I found out. She was really understanding."
In the background of such tragedy, Cecchini was also in spring practice, fighting to live up to the incredible bar set by McGinnis.
"I can't explain how much pressure there was on me to do well, and I was honestly playing awful, horrible," Cecchini said. "I just realized that it was really selfish to be on this team and not be able to mentally be there all the way."
Her parents were forced to stay in California full-time after her brother passed, and Alli realized she wanted to be home more, which would require her to leave the team.
Alli planned to tell Wise after the spring season, because she laughingly admits she really wanted to play in the first-ever SEC beach volleyball tournament.
But Wise could tell, calling Cecchini into her office the week before the tournament.
"(Wise) was like, 'Look, what are we going to do about you next year? Your head's obviously not in it. We need to sit down and figure out a game plan for you, what's going to work out for you.'"
Alli couldn't hold it in any longer.
"I just felt like I'd be lying to sit there and pretend like, 'Yeah, let's make a game plan,' so I was just like, 'Mary, I decided I'm not playing next year.'"
Her coach and teammates were shocked, best friend and former roommate Elyse Cusack especially. But the most important thing was their support, which Cecchini cherishes.
Alli will be in the stands for Friday night's season opener, yelling for her former teammates, who she talks to nearly every day.
She knows she'll miss playing, but life forced her to make this sad choice.
Because sometimes things really don't end Happily Ever After.
