Cancer Survivor, Tennis Player, Entrepeneur and Coach
When I highlighted Carolina back in February in an Instagram Story for National Women in Sports Day, I had no idea what an inspiration and supporter of mine she’d become. What I seen was a woman with a tennis racquet, playing a game I love to watch and even played a bit as a teen. Add the two together and it made logical sense to story her.
Here we are a couple months later and I’m adding her to the ‘Meet Me’ section of my forum. And deservingly so, as I’ve learned much more about the woman behind the racquet.
Meet: Carolina Suarez
Carolina, tells me, out of affection, her friends call her Carol. Yet, out of my affection, and I happen to like her name, I’ll call her Carolina. Afterall, it is a very nice name for such a caring soul as you’ll soon discover.
Carolina was born and raised in Venezuela and says of the sport, ” I learned about tennis thanks to my dad who was a player many years ago. He was not at a professional level, but he played with so much passion that he could spend a whole day on the court without stopping. From him, I inherited my passion for this wonderful sport.”
After graduating from high school, she enrolled in college and obtained her bachelor’s degree in public accounting. Laughingly, she tells me her age and says, “I feel very young.”
However, with our cultural divide between asking and confessing a woman’s age here in the United States, I snicker feeling safe as to not disclose her length of existence. You know the old saying, never ask a woman her age.
“I consider myself a very active person, I currently train and play whenever I can. I, also, love to go running, among other sports,” when questioned about her training activity. Then added about her colors on the court. “I love bright colors when training, how crazy! I have always liked to look good when training. From there the idea of creating my brand (Carols Tennis) of tennis accessories was born.”
Carolina tells me she started Carols Tennis in her native Venezuela and expanded it to the United States last year. She’s, also, extremely grateful to be here and considers the USA a wonderful country.
But what’s more touching is the fact she’s a youth tennis coach and teaches kids aged four to ten, the game itself.
About ‘US’ not U.S.
A little over four years ago, Carolina, the mother of two, moved from her native country and emigrated to the United States. Here she has but three wishes. “To be healthy, to be a better mother every day, and to be an example of motivation for many people who are going through a difficult situation,” she says, before telling me what led her to following me some months ago.
“In 2016 I had grade 3 breast cancer,” Carolina says softly, “from which I got out, thanks to God. And my desire to continue living, I never stopped playing even while undergoing chemotherapy treatment.”
After hearing that ‘word’, I knew there wouldn’t be an ‘About Me’ in this article. I knew it would be pointless because we found our connection through a disease.
Unlike politics, ‘cancer’ joins folks together. We’re like kindred spirts and yet she spoke to why she clicked that follow button, “I started following you because you are a ‘cancer survivor’, and through your networks you inspire people to move forward, and that is admirable,” Carolina closed.
Writers Note:
Carolina left me with a parting message, “If you have confidence in yourself, you will be able to get ahead.” But ‘getting ahead’ doesn’t necessarily mean wealth. To me it’s inner strength and although I recognized many supporters during my cancer fight, I neglected to see the others that stood behind me unseen and unheard from. I see that now, and for those I am even more grateful.
I offer you thanks, Carolina, not just for this article and your time. But for being in my corner even when I didn’t see you. You truly are a very ‘sweet person.’ And although I’m a bit late in the game in noticing you, I’m grateful we have both won our matches against the disease and are now friends.
To my readers I’d like to encourage you to check out Carols Tennis on Instagram. There you can contact her about purchasing the tennis accessories she’s created. I’ve enclosed her links below.
Carolina’s Social Media Sites:
CarolinaSuarez | 🎾 𝕄𝕪 𝕋𝕖𝕟𝕟𝕚𝕤 𝕎𝕠𝕣𝕝𝕕🌎 (@unaceporlavidabycarolinasuarez) • Instagram
Carols Tennis 🎾 (@carolstennis_) • Instagram
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