Most people can't imagine the obstacles high school senior Brey Waters faced growing up.  

“I will make my grandparents proud, especially my nana, because without her I would never be who I am today,” said Waters, fighting back tears.

“I am very proud,” said Waters when asked how proud she is of herself. “It’s because she didn’t give up on me when everyone else did that I am who I am.”

A bright spotlight now shines on recently named UNCF All-Star Brey Waters.  Waters started for the premiere Hillsborough County event that allows athletes to show off their skills in front of college scouts.

“It’s like a dream come true because I always used to want to be an all-star,” said Waters.

Her story includes several dark turns.

“It came to a point where I was like I’m done with you,” said Patty Johnson, Brey’s grandmother. “Go live with your mom because I can’t handle this anymore.”

The Riverview forward recently told her story in her own words.

By the time I had reached seven, maybe eight years old my mother started to get into drugs and it affected me early on.

Growing up Brey had no contact with her mom. She was left to take care of her younger brother. She missed school constantly and when she was there, she was always in trouble.

I was arrested all in my freshman year of high school. I completely embarrassed my mom, my aunt, my family and myself as well as my mother.

“She does refer to me as mom,” said Johnson. “I just loved her through it all, unconditionally, even though she felt like she disappointed us so much that we wouldn’t love her. The love was unconditional. That’s all I did, really.”

“You are my best friend,” Brey said when asked what message she had for her “mom”.

“She took me off of a path to destruction basically,” said Waters.

In middle school, Brey was pulled out before getting kicked out. She was homeschooled. With behavioral and grade problems still, she bounced between high schools attending Riverview and Lennard.

I was always involved in sports and basketball was always my way out.

“Her grades had to be up and her behavior had to be what we expected it to be in order for her to participate in basketball,” said Johnson.

“My dad and my nana would always tell me ‘If you can’t behave in a classroom, what makes us think you can behave on a basketball court?’” said Waters. “That was kinda my threat, like if you don’t do this, then you’re now gonna be able to play basketball and I couldn’t handle that.”

With her nana’s guidance Waters seemed to find clarity her junior year.

“I finally saw my GPA and said ‘this can’t be who I am,’” said Waters. “I’ve always wanted to be an attorney so she (nana) would always say ‘lawyers can’t do this kinda stuff, so you need to get it together’. So, then I was like I am gonna do it for myself.”

I’ll never forget my first and last game of my junior year at Brandon High School. It was in the very beginning of the third quarter and I had 22 points and 12 rebounds, when I came down off of a lay-up and broke my leg and dislocated my ankle. I remember being so heart broken and feeling that my life was absolutely over.

In her first game back, her birthday the following year, someone landed on her ankle during warm-ups and ripped out some of her stitches.

“I actually found myself in that point a lot,” said Waters when asked if she ever felt like saying why me? “But then my nana used to tell me it’s part of God’s plan, so I just kinda let it be in his hands and now he’s taken me to different places.”

That place includes starting for her very first all-star team.

“It’s amazing what she’s overcome,” said UNCF East All-Star coach Maggie Hedley. “It’s shocking that someone can go through so much, at a young age and you wouldn’t even know it.”

“I never imagined it, but she has pressed forward and kept her eye on the prize so she could graduate with honors,” said Johnson.

“I usually think that even though I’ve had it worse that’s not an excuse to hold back my life,” said Johnson. “You should make it to where you don’t ever want to be in that situation again, so you have no choice, but to keep moving forward.”