Hey, sweet girl.

Before I start, I want to say that I'm proud of you - and you should never forget to be proud of yourself, too.

You've never been one to be afraid of trying new things, and this is no exception. Right now, you're a gymnast. It's fun - but it doesn't really fit you. You're about to tell your parents that you want to try soccer, but you have no idea that that one conversation will totally change your life.

I'm you, on the other side of this beautiful journey with the beautiful game. I'm you, thirteen years later. There will be times you want to give up on the game, but I'm here to tell you to stick it through. You will never regret it.

Megan, you are about the choose the game, but what you don't know is that this game will steal some of your health and a ton of your time...but it will also steal your heart.

It'll start slow and sweet. It'll start in a suburbian park, in a purple jersey, at five years old. Your mom will brush your hair and put it up in a ponytail with a purple, beaded ponytail holder. Your dad will help you find cleats, and he will tie them for you before every practice and every game. You won't ever forget your first practice, because no one ever forgets the moment they first fall in love.

You won't win a game that first season, but you'll still run through it, hair flying in the wind, with a huge smile on your face. Your parents will smile knowingly at each other, and cancel your gymnastic classes. Without using words, you will choose the game.

Before you know it, a casual rec team turns into a multi-hour academy commitment. You'll be balancing three teams simultaneously, working hard to finish school early so you can practice in your backyard, and you'll get up early every morning to workout - at age seven. Like I said, I'm really proud of you...don't forget it, okay?

You'll love every second, for a while. But disappointments start coming. Bitterness will break up teams, and separate friends. You'll be disappointed in yourself after a rough game. You'll have to switch teams more times than you can count. This life won't always be easy on you.

Suddenly, five years have gone by. It's time to choose one team, not two or three. It's time to transition from your academy years to your club years. It's your first taste of the reality that life flies by faster than you expected it to. Pay attention to that feeling - it's not the last time you'll feel it.

As you sign your first set of club commitment papers, you'll feel more grown up than ever. When you sign with one of the best teams in the state, you'll learn that hard work really does pay off. Your smile hasn't gotten any smaller as you, once again, choose the game.

But that year will be one of your hardest. You'll forget what being a kid is supposed to feel like as stress, anxiety, and a desire to please your coach and your parents consume you. You'll feel like you aren't ever good enough, and you'll be afraid to even step on the field, because you might mess up. Your coaches' screams will still ring in your ears as you fall asleep each night, feeling utterly defeated. A year goes by, and you'll want to leave the game behind.

Don't.

Even though it sucks right now, don't you let the game go. Don't let one bad coach, one bad year, or one bad experience steal the game from you. Fight for all the good you don't see yet. In the next eight years, let me tell you what some of that good will look like.

You'll learn life lessons. You'll learn discipline, commitment, teamwork, tenacity, humility, and grace. You'll learn how to win, and how to lose.You'll learn how to overcome adversity when you struggle through chronic injuries. You'll learn how to respect authority. You'll learn that the last five minutes are the ones that show your character - and then you learn how to shape that character.

You'll learn how to face severe disappointment when you have to turn down college soccer offers because of serious illness.

Before you know it, you'll be a highschool senior.

You'll have the opportunity to lead a group of younger girls on your highschool team, and it will be the sweetest experience in your thirteen years with the game. Treasure every second of it.

Megan, your last year will be a fight. You'll be sick and injured, but keep fighting. It'll be the best year, and it will by far teach you the most. Every time you step on the field, it'll be really painful. Keep choosing the game.

Keep choosing, because one day you'll step on the field for the last time. You'll pray fervently for health to play, and when you step on the field, you'll whisper under your breath, thanking God for one last chance to choose the beautiful game.

So, five - year - old me. Say yes to soccer, and keep saying yes for the next thirteen years. You'll get injured, you'll get yelled at (a lot), and you'll turn down a million and a half invitations because of practices or fitness camps. But at the very end of it all, you'll smile and know it was all worth it.

From eighteen - year - old me to five - year - old me, thank you for choosing soccer. You chose well.