All of my life I have been the type of person who liked things to be familiar and comfortable. I was afraid of change. Even though I should of been use to it with how much my family moved growing up, I still never was a fan of new and different challenges.

I was born and raised in Arizona and never once did it cross my mind that there was even a possibility that I wouldn’t live in this state for the rest of my life. I had an amazing childhood. I am the second oldest in my family and have four siblings, 2 brothers and 2 sisters. Having such a big family definitely kept things in my life busy and interesting. I started playing soccer at a very young age and I couldn’t tell you a time I don’t remember being on a team. My family was very supportive and dedicated a lot of time and money into my soccer career. I played travel soccer for 10 years and learned a lot about myself. I found out I had a natural talent for this sport and I fell absolutely in love with it. I created relationships with teammates and coaches that really left an impact on my life. Playing soccer led me to finding some of my best friends and I created some of the best memories. We were able to travel not only the country together but the world. I was very blessed and grateful for the opportunity I had playing soccer and growing up in this beautiful state.

When I was 15 years old, my life changed in a way I never expected. My dad had accepted a new job opportunity and we were all so proud and thrilled for him. At least we were until we found out we were moving across the country. After my parents had told us the news, we had 3 weeks to pack up our house and say goodbye to all our family and friends and move to Newnan, Georgia. I felt like I was in a dream and that there was no way my family could possibly be moving so far away. I had an extremely hard time with the move. I was leaving one of the best soccer teams on the west coast, the high school I’ve always wanted to graduate from, and everything I’ve always had known. I can still remember my last day of school and soccer practice like it was yesterday. I remember the tears, hugs and heartbreak. It was definitely one of the hardest moments in my life.

After moving over a thousand miles away from all my family and friends, it took me quite some time to realize this wasn’t a trip, we weren’t going back to Arizona, it was now permanent. I cried for months and was honestly depressed for the first semester of my sophomore year at my new high school. However right around my birthday, and beginning of our second semester, I met someone who changed my life forever. Sieria Behringer introduced herself to me in the locker room before our weight training class that semester. Little did I know at the time that this girl would be my life long best friend.

Sieria introduced me to everyone at our school. I was known as “the new girl from Arizona” for the longest time. But I was okay with it, I got a lot of attention and I kind of enjoyed it. I met all of my best friends that semester. We went on some of the coolest most memorable adventures. We all had just got our drivers licenses, so we had the world at our fingertips. That summer I really had the chance to get to know myself and learn things about myself that I didn’t even know. I met someone really special and fell in love, learned a lot of important lessons, and grew so much as a person. I began to love Georgia and all the people I had met and became so close with. I had such a fun high school experience in Newnan and I honestly wouldn’t trade it for the world. I was able to play both travel and high school soccer, and that’s how I found Piedmont College.

My move to Georgia turned into one of the biggest blessings in my life. I grew as a person and truly found who I am. I have met some of the most amazing people in my life and I will forever be grateful for that. It made my fear of change turn into an excitement for new adventures. I am so lucky to have found my way to Georgia and I’m excited to see where my life will take me in the future and I can’t wait.