With pre-season for soccer beginning in August it will be surreal for me; I will be entering my senior season of college soccer. I have played soccer since I was five years old and competitively since I was seven, so you could say that soccer has been part of my life for as long as I can remember.
Even though my soccer career will most likely end at the end of the season, I am excited to see what opportunities open to me that I haven't been able to pursue because of how busy I have always been with soccer. I haven't been on an actual summer vacation trip since I was in middle school and most of my time after school or on the weekends was always filled with soccer or doing my homework when I had breaks to do it.
Sometimes I feel like I will be lost without having a constant practice and game schedule to keep me on top of everything I need to do for my classes. During the brief period of time during off-season when we haven't been allowed to have actual practices I feel like I have had a hole in my schedule where I don't know what to do and I wind up going to the gym anyway to workout or I sit in my room and look over the homework I have already completed out of habit.
I know that this season is going to feel like it goes by faster than any other season I have played, but I hope to make the best of it that I can and make it a memorable season not only for me but also for my teammates and the other seniors on the team. I will miss getting the chance to play competitively, but I am excited for the new opportunities I will have after I graduate college.