"I have always thought of sports as a secondary passion for me, behind
the performing arts. It wasn't until recently when I realized that
soccer and singing are strikingly similar. The soccer field, like the
stage, is another world. When I'm playing soccer, or running a cross
country race, the mundane realities of the world seem to melt away.
Sports focus my mind and body and steal me away from the trivialities
of every day life. When I am playing or running nothing else seems to
matter. While singing provokes a similar sensation, soccer has shaped
something different within me. Playing soccer for CPS, I have never
been the most skillful or fit player. I have struggled with ball
control and with sprints. But I have learned through soccer and grown
in ways I couldn't have if I just stuck to singing. Soccer taught me
perseverance and self-discipline. I never thought I would be one to
enjoy working so hard. But I have learned through soccer that putting
in the effort and fighting through frustration and pain is amazingly
worthwhile. The full field sprints may seem awful at the time but
looking back I realize that they gave me an escape from reality and
taught me of my own strength. I'm pleasantly surprised, proud and
grateful." |