And that is , I think , one of the biggest things that they have told me , but they've also Told me that from like a more gracious , like a gratitude standpoint , and they've also said , start leading , like , be a leader , you can be a leader at any , in any grade at any point and just use that , but also use it and be a good teammate , cause that's first and foremost . I balance academics and soccer , kind of very similar to how I did it in high school and it's , I think it's a tough thing . I think I still struggle with it to this day of how do I be able to stay in contact with my friends and family from home , also get to know my teammates and the friends that I've made here at Northwestern , and also Keep up with academics , keep up with sports , like , that is all like a tough tough thing to , and I think you I never do it perfectly , and I still struggle with it to this day of what is like enough balance , and sometimes I think the balance requires sacrifice and sacrificing , hey , I can't .
I balance academics and soccer , kind of very similar to how I did it in high school and it's , I think it's a tough thing . I think I still struggle with it to this day of how do I be able to stay in contact with my friends and family from home , also get to know my teammates and the friends that I've made here at Northwestern , and also Keep up with academics , keep up with sports , like , that is all like a tough tough thing to , and I think you I never do it perfectly , and I still struggle with it to this day of what is like enough balance , and sometimes I think the balance requires sacrifice and sacrificing , hey , I can't . Go out to dinner today , cause I really have this exam that I need to study for in 2 days' time and really realizing your priorities in the given moment and sometimes your priorities will shift .
Go out to dinner today , cause I really have this exam that I need to study for in 2 days' time and really realizing your priorities in the given moment and sometimes your priorities will shift . Sometimes you're like , I have practice at 6:30 , next morning , I can't go to a movie tonight or something like that , and sometimes I think we , I committed knowing that this was the life I wanted and the College experience I wanted to have , just going back to why I committed and realizing this is this is my reason why , and this is why I wanted to play a Division One sport and in a big conference as well , because it's , it's never easy and the balance act is never easy , and I still struggle with it to this day , but realizing sometimes you need to Relax a little bit and not always be like this ball of stress because that's also not a very healthy thing either . You need to be able to talk with your friends , talk with your family , and keep those strong connections from home as well .
And in the classroom especially too , is like those things are fundamental to how we live on a daily basis and are huge , so I think those help me . Do well both on the field and just as a person as well , but also putting in extra hours when people aren't watching and just simple things like recovery , stretching , taking care of your body , because at the end of the day , we can only play our sport for so long , and at some point we're gonna wish we could play it longer and Uh trying to lengthen our longevity in our sport and in my sport as long as I can because it is a very exhausting and physically taxing sport . Some challenges I faced , I think there's a lot of adversity in collegiate soccer , but also in youth soccer .
There's so much opportunity for our voices to be heard and for us to connect with people and inspire the next generation . And at the end of the day , that is what I've always tried to tried to do is that's your mark . Like you could have all the goals .
