Life is full of some pretty amazing things to be passionate about. Each of us are born and destined to embrace their inner passion. Whether that be an undying love for a sport, instrument, photography, volunteer work, cooking, or anything in between. It's something you've come to realize you are infatuated with from the first day you tried it. Passionate individuals are some of the best people you'll meet in life because they are unafraid of showing their love. They love what they do and they aren't afraid to love you. Passionate people are everywhere. You meet them in all walks of life.

But, what happens when someone or something attempts to destroy a passion? You see it all the time. You are forced to stop doing what you love most because of all sorts of things. This can be anything from bad luck and misfortune, physical injuries, or anything else that may be totally out of your control.

But, ultimately, it's up to you whether you'll allow that passion to fizzle out.

In my opinion, when something has captivated your life for so long, there is no way that it completely disappears in the blink of an eye. Sure, your dreams of becoming a famous musician, Broadway star, or professional athlete might not be reachable somewhere down the road. But, that doesn't mean you can't still be involved in the magic in some way, shape or form.

For me, this realization happened at the beginning of my college career. My entire life, I had dreamed of becoming a collegiate soccer player. From the age of 5, I dedicated my life to the sport and never looked back. Going to practice and games was always the highlight of my days, and it was NEVER something I dreaded doing. Whenever someone brought up the idea of playing soccer in college, my face would light up and I would be smiling from ear to ear. Just ask my parents. I never once thought that it was a dream that was out of reach; it was just something I was going to do for the next four years of my life.

Never in my wildest imagination did I think that dream could be crushed in a matter of 2 weeks. I never thought that the sport would bring me so much sadness and leave me feeling hopeless. I never thought I would want to give up and throw in the towel. I never thought one coach could do that.

But, it happens. Everyday, a coach takes that love for the game from players. Maybe it's not intentional, but it happens. It's a cut throat mentality where college coaches are not honest with players about their chances. Many are not up front with players about the reality of making the team or not. Players base their future education off of the honesty or dishonesty from coaches, and it's a sad reality.

I guess you could say I'm one of the lucky ones. I made sure to choose a school that I would love regardless of playing soccer or not. It was always in the back of my mind that I could experience a career ending injury, so I made sure the school was the best fit for me. Some people aren't as lucky. They are left with nothing but regret.

For the first couple months of freshman year, it was hard. I'm not going to lie, I cried a lot. I had never gone more than a few days without playing soccer. But, now I had to face the reality that I would never play the sport I loved for a competitive team ever again. That's a lot to handle.

Luckily, I met my best friend who experienced the same heartbreak. We made it bearable for one another. It took some time, but I finally was able to rationalize why this happened to me. Life isn't always fair, and everything happens for a reason. It wasn't until now that I actually believed it.

Watching soccer games in person and on TV used to bring me so much joy and excitement to go out and play. This was the first time that I felt anger. But thankfully, for me, the anger didn't last quite as long as I thought it would. I am thankful for that because I would've never been in the place I am now.

It was just a few years ago that I thought a coach killed my passion. But, really, he just squished it and it was up to me to bring it back to life. You don't just play something since you were 5 years old, and let it disappear into oblivion. It wasn't in my DNA to let soccer go for good!

I found a new way to still stay involved and spread my love for the game. Currently, I have started volunteering my time as an assistant coach with a travel soccer program near my college. Just in a matter of a month, it has brought me so much joy. It reminds me day in and day out why I fell in love with the sport at such a young age. I love seeing the pure excitement on the little girls' faces as they dribble up the field or score a goal. It feels like just yesterday that I was scoring my first goal.

Of course, I still get a little sad when I think about how fast my youth soccer days went by. But, I am overjoyed that I get to be around the sport again. If I can be a reason that a little bright-eyed girl falls in love with the sport that made my world go round for more than a decade of my life, I will feel more than satisfied!