Decisions are a big part of our lives. We make small decisions every day, like, what should we eat or what should we drink. Then there are those times where we have to make big decisions that could impact the rest of our lives. I know that sounds extreme, but it’s true. Some decisions we make impact our lives. I want to tell you about one that I made. It turned out to be the best decision of my life, and that was to play soccer.

At a young age, athletics quickly took over my life. I played soccer, football, baseball, and tennis for a while until it became time for me to branch off and focus on one sport only. For a while, my dream was to be the first female in the NFL or the MLB, however, as I got older I realized that dream was hard to obtain. So I chose to focus on my favorite sport – Soccer.

Playing soccer for 15 years now, I couldn’t imagine my life without it. I know that sounds cliche, but it’s true. Every single day consisted of soccer. Whether I had practice with my team, or whether it was just me training at the local park on my own, I was always playing soccer. I had a dream, and that was to play in college. So everyday was devoted to achieving that goal.

When high school came, it was prime recruitment time. I didn’t start getting recruited heavily until my junior year. Then in my senior year I committed to Mercy. That day when I called Coach Feinstein, my current coach, and told him that I wanted to be a Maverick in 2016, was a day I will never forget. In that moment, I felt like all of that hard work was finally worth it. I didn’t think I could ever feel better than I have in that moment.

With how much I love soccer, I always say that I don’t know what my life would be like without it. However, sometimes I wonder whether or not I made the right choice. When I was younger, I was very good at tennis. My older brother was a tennis player, and his coaches offered to take me on and coach me. They saw real potential in me. However I loved soccer and chose to focus on that sport.

This happens to a lot of us. Whether it’s with sports or not. We have a decision in life and we stick with it and go with what we chose. But do we ever look back on life and wonder what our life would be like if we chose something else? Sometimes I wonder if I would have stuck with tennis, would I be playing professionally? Could I have been more successful with tennis rather than soccer? I will never know, but what I do know is that everything that has happened, everything that I have learned and experienced through soccer, has made me the person that I am today. As much as we imagine how awesome our life could be if we chose a different direction, it wouldn’t be what it is today.

Soccer has taught me many lessons. It has taught me that hard work pays off and that good things come to those who give everything they got. Most importantly though, it has taught me the value of team. I have played on many different teams in my life, and each one has taught me one thing, and that is that I chose the right sport.

What I love about soccer is that I get to experience it with my best friends who also love the game. If I were to chose tennis, it would be just me, myself, and I on the court. I love that I get to step on the field with a team behind my back.

So as much as I wonder whether or not I made the right decision, every time I step onto that field, I’m reminded that I did. My life could be so different if I chose not to play soccer. I trust that God has placed me in the right spot.

Though there are times where we feel that we made the wrong decision, or that we should’ve done something else; there are also times of pure joy. So before you wish you would’ve chose something else, picture your life completely different than what it is. Would you like that?