Please briefly elaborate on one of your extracurricular activities or work experiences in the space below (1000 character maximum).
Jealousy was the triggering factor of my soccer career. Witnessing my brother practice with his team and playing games on weekends sparked my interest and therefore convinced my parents to sign me up for a soccer team as soon as I turned 5. No one could foresee that from that point on, my life would eventually revolve around soccer practices and games which allowed little room for much else. What had started off from a pure emotion of a toddler eventually became a way of life and a major contribution to who I am today.
Being able to practice with a father who grew up playing soccer in Korea as well as a brother who started playing before I did, I was able to pick up skills and game strategies much quicker than most children. I started improving my game and eventually was selected to play for the Spring Select B-Team, a second string all- star team for the city I was playing for. Being in a Spring Select team for AYSO at the age of nine was an eye opening experience. I began seeing the coach favoring his daughter and assistant coach's daughter by playing them at the positions they preferred and giving them much more playing time than the rest of us. I tried talking to him about the biased decisions that were being made, but soon ended up quitting the team when the coach remained adamant in his decisions. Rather than exiting from the sport however, I swore that from that point on I would improve so that the coaches would not treat me unfairly. My parents gladly signed me up with a private trainer and with undying determination I gradually saw improvement in my own skills. By the next season, I was selected in an A-Team and became a superstar in the team throughout the season. Not running away from the problems I encountered, I faced them headfirst and learned a valuable lesson in life about the need to be proactive.
Realizing the limits of soccer within the AYSO soccer leagues, I convinced my parents to sign me up for a club team, which was a competitive league consisting of girls much like myself. Playing soccer in a club team changed my view on the sport and was yet another eye opening experience. I quickly learned that this was a team sport and I needed to be the best at the positions I was told to play. I also learned that winning in this stage of club soccer was much more important than being a superstar of a losing team. I learned to play under the instructions and game plan that was set by the coaching staff which, without my knowledge, helped me become a much better player.
When my club team was not capable of advancing further into higher divisions, I had to decide between leaving the team and trying out for different teams that were in higher levels. This became an extremely difficult decision for me. I needed to choose between the friendships that I had built playing on this team and moving teams in order to improve my own self. The decision to try out for a better team signified the start of my journey in striving to reach the premier league team: an ultimate goal of a club soccer player. After moving teams, the challenges never stopped, but by overcoming each obstacle, I helped the Silver team to reach Silver Elite league, Silver Elite team to reach Gold league, and finally, with the help of my teammates, reached my goal of being in a Premier team. I had set my eyes on the Premier League and through hard work I eventually reached my dream during my junior year of High School.
When I think about my soccer career, it wasn't easy. Though there had been many bumps in the road, I bounced back each time in order to reach the top. Memories of self discipline and training proved my desire to show that I was better than what they had always thought of me. Motivated by these convictions, I tasted the sweet taste of victory that many others strove to acquire. By facing these challenges on my own, I gained the knowledge of knowing that in life, nothing came easy and everything must be earned.
Playing for such a high level club team meant much more intensive practices during the weekdays and traveling longer distances for games on the weekends. As I got older, the classes that I took became more demanding and required more time for studying. This meant I had no time to waste by hanging out with my friends and enjoying life like the other kids around me. I had to manage my time for studying, soccer practices, and soccer games. When my friends were hanging out at the mall, I was studying. When my friends were partying or watching movies on weekends, I was playing soccer games and catching up with studying at night. There were many nights I regretted getting heavily involved with soccer when I could not socialize with my friends. However, I now know that soccer has helped me become the person that I amïa proactive person.
Upon reaching my senior year of high school, I stopped playing club soccer after leaving my mark in the Premier League in order to work and help out my parents who were in a difficult situation. However, my passion for the sport remains within me and will never forget all the obstacles that I had to overcome to reach my long term goal. I know that this passion will continue as I go to college and will push me to play intramurals. No matter how much older I get, I will never be able to forget how soccer helped me define myself and who I am today. What started off as a simple hobby now remains as a significant life experience.
