Growing up in Athens my entire life I have been surrounded by die hard Georgia football fans all year round. Being in a town so focused on male sports, it was difficult to find a sport that I felt would make people interested. As a kid, I tried multiple sports, but I loved soccer the most. I don’t remember much about playing soccer as a little kid and a young teenager, except that I always had fun with it and most of my friends played as well. When I got to high school, I began to understand the importance of playing on a team. I made the varsity team my freshman year and I was immediately faced with the task of increasing my maturity level, my ability to think and react quickly in game situations, and to balance the intensity of academics along with varsity practice and games. My four years playing soccer at Clarke Central High School were some of the best I could have ever asked for. My coaches and teammates taught me extremely valuable skills for soccer and for real life, such as how to be a leader and how to not crack under pressure. I was honored to be chosen as a captain my junior and senior years based on my skills and personality on and off the field and my ability to evaluate situations and lead my team during difficult games when everyone wanted to give up the fight. I am very happy that I chose to play soccer when I was younger or else I may not have the team mentality to work with everyone for one common goal, the leadership I developed, or all of the friends that I made through my years of playing soccer for Clarke Central and my travel teams.