LEXINGTON, Ky. — A golfer in Lexington who lost her mother at a young age is sharing her story in hopes to make a positive impact on young children in the community.
What You Need To Know
- Amiria Smiley is mentoring children in Lexington
- Golf has been an outlet for Amiria Smiley
- Smiley wants to create a positive change in her community
- Smiley wants to serve in the military in the future
For Amiria Smiley, golf is a sport that changed everything in her life.
“I just see it as a challenge. I love to be challenged. I am a perfectionist and golf is not a game for perfectionists,” Smiley said.
It wasn’t until four years ago when Smiley had started using golf as an outlet. Growing up, Smiley and her sister experienced a difficult childhood.
“My mom and my dad both suffered from addiction problems. My mother passed away from an overdose so that is pretty close to home obviously and just showing what addiction can do to other people and how it can affect people around you, not just the person who has the addiction,” Smiley said.
Recently, Smiley's dad was arrested because of his addiction. For the majority of her life, Smiley lived under the care of her grandmother, who became her everything.
“She is my mother, father, grandmother, and grandfather all mixed into one person. She's my rock. She's there anytime she can support me. She is still here and watches everything that I do. I mean she calls me in school on and off. She's very into my life which I appreciate,” Smiley said.
Now in college, Smiley is working to give back to the sport that changed her life. She's mentoring children through different organizations around the community.
“Everyone has their own problems and being able to help him through whatever they’re going through means a lot to me,” Smiley said.
The mentors in Smiley's life have become her family, and she hopes to use the motivation to help others to make a change in these children’s lives. Smiley said she’s thankful for her grandma stepping up when she did because it made her the person she is today.
“Just shows that all of her hard work has paid off because she gave up a lot of her life to raise grandkids instead of going out and going on vacation like she should’ve once her kids were out of her house,” Smiley said.
Smiley now attends Transylvania University and hopes upon graduation to serve in the military as a pilot. She's currently working on getting her private pilot's license.