Tullio Pereira

I, Tullio Pereira, am an under-grad student at Umass Amherst that studies the "arts of doing business". I am an accounting major, but my declared major does not define my studies. As part of one of the best business schools in the country, Isenberg School of Management, I do not limit myself just to learning how to be a great accountant, but also, how to be a great business man in all aspects. My love for business was sparked by something unexpected, the sport that I love, and am the most passionate about.
It is the simplest sport to play, and the most affordable; anything that can become a kickable object can start a game, I imagine that everyone knows by now the sport I am talking about: football, known in United States as soccer. It all started when I was a kid, as any kid born and raised in Brazil, soccer was part of my growing up experience; playing the game was the highlight of the day during the week. Sometimes, even when for one reason or another, we would no longer have a ball, in which was usually given to us for Christmas (times were tough when I was a kid), there were many ways that kids, including myself, would play soccer on the streets with a bunch socks rolled into a ball, or an empty 2-liter soda bottle, not including other improvisations. Nothing stopped us from playing the game.
Since during the week was time to play soccer, on the weekends was time to watch the professionals play, especially my so beloved soccer club. Every weekend thousands of fans would go to the stadium to watch them play, as I would, and people would make sacrifices, in which for non-soccer fans were absurd; fans would miss out on wedding, borrow money from a friend, miss birthday parties, some would even leave a bill without pay, amongst many other sacrifices, just so they wouldn’t miss a match throughout the season. Even with all the support of the fans, year after year, the team would disappoint them, and by one reason or another, they would not be successful throughout the season. If during a specific year they would be fighting for the championship, they would never end up winning. So my dream became to one day become a soccer player and play for my club; making them successful.
As I got older, I realized that my skills weren’t nearly as good as the best players in my neighborhood, never mind the country. At that point I was very discouraged because my dream was crushed, there was no way I could accomplish it. I was just not skilled enoug