by Trina Walker
When Arellana White’s mother had three girls she wanted to name them something sweet. Her older sisters got the names Sweetie and Candy. This is how Arellana became known simply as Cookie.

While her nickname is sweet, Cookie is a force to be reckoned with on the softball field.

The game has taught this Anadarko High School senior to ”stay strong in the toughest situations,” she says.

Cookie started playing with a 12U team in Binger through her sophomore year when she moved to Anadarko as a junior. Moving to a new school late in high school is a big change but for Cookie it has been a good experience. “Moving here, meeting my new friends and teammates, getting to spend each day with them ever since,” she says is now a favorite memory of the game.

The best part of softball is “the feeling of success and accomplishment out on the field,” she says, “I want it to be worth all the time, money and effort spent into it.”

Cookie looks up to her sister, Aliyah White, who played basketball at Seminole State College. “She is very ambitious and smart and has the persistence I admire. My brother Joey and dad are the two people that inspire me to be determined, practicing with me through rain or shine. My parents are my biggest supporters.”

She also finds inspiration from teammate, Mariah Gooday who has left the biggest impression for always being there to lift up, and her math teacher, Mr. Racadio. Cookie says, “his class is always funny and never boring even though the work he gives is difficult.”

Cookie gives thanks to God, “everything I do is through him,” she said. As an athlete representing her school, Cookie just wants to show people her teams dedication to the game.

The best advice she has ever been given is to “be patient, and be purposeful with everything you do.”