The life of a student-athlete

"Sports are more than just sports. Sports are culture, education, respect, friendship, health... Sports are part of me and I cannot live without it"

As my quote says, sports are part of me. Besides the impeccable education my parents gave me, the person I am is because of sports.

Although I have been playing soccer for the past 11 years of my life, I started practicing judo, a traditional martial art. It was the first "official" sport I ever dedicated my time to. It is an individual sport so it taught me that, if I want to achieve goals, I need to put the work and effort. In this world nothing is free. I love the phrase "No pain, no gain". Unless you are a lucky person that was born in a wealthy family or has a lot of connections, you need to build your own path in this life with a lot of sweat and hard work.

Being a student-athlete is not an easy task. The fact that I have practices every day plus two games on the weekends makes this activity very demanding, both physically and psychologically. Soccer requires a lot of time, so in order to keep my academic status I need excellent time management, ability that I developed through all my years as a student-athlete. Sports are a part of me and they compliment me. They make me a more competitive person with strong team mindset. They also make me a better person and engineer since they taught me respect to others and they serve as a mental therapy that allows me to perform better. I am a person that loves setting goals and I am not scared of new challenges. Thanks to soccer I see every experience as a chance to learn more from others and from myself too.