Don't Tread on Me.

You might not know this about me, but I LOVE soccer. Seeing as I don't have Fox Soccer Network, and my ESPN3 doesn't work at the house, the only times I can watch soccer is at a bar (which is always a nice excuse to get out and about) or when it's on ESPN (which is rare, since right now it's basketball + NFL season). I'm probably also a very weird soccer fan, in the fact that I really don't have a favorite European team that I cheer for. I tend to cheer for the Americans that are playing overseas. Don't get me wrong, I'm just like everyone else when it comes to catching the Man U, Chelsea, Barca, Real Madrid, etc. games. It is soccer at the highest level. However, there is something about watching the US Men's National Team (and WNT for that matter). You can't help but get excited watching these professionals represent our country in a sport that we, as a country, are just starting to support. 

That lack of support comes from a couple of places. 1) Why would anyone watch soccer when you have football (American), basketball, baseball, (all which we excel at, and people from different countries would jump at the chance to play here) and there is a team that you can cheer for in your regional area? 2) Expanding from the 1st point, having these popular sports, that's what kids watch, and they grow up wanting to play those sports instead of soccer. 3) Most people truly do not understand soccer. I don't know how many people I've watched a game with that said after the final whistle, "How do you watch this? It's so boring! No one even scored!" 

Soccer is such a complex sport. One where the best play may not start by moving the ball forward. A back pass opens the field up for more opportunities for spacing, runs, etc. Every pass has to have the correct placement and force on it, or that play will be broken up. Most people talk about quarterbacks throwing the ball in such a small pocket, and how the pass has to be perfect for a receiver to have a chance to catch it. Same thing with soccer, except EVERY player has to be like a quarterback AND be a receiver. Each pass, each shot has to be placed perfectly, and each touch has to be good, otherwise the play is changed. The possession: that is what MAKES soccer the sport it is. Seeing how players shift on the field, when they don't even have the ball; the crisp one-touch passes; waiting for the precise moment to strike... that is what soccer is all about.

I can't get enough of the USMNT, I really can't. I watch highlights, interviews with the players, games, etc. I get goosebumps watching an amazing goal being scored, or a keeper make an incredible save. Most of all, I remember what it feels like to be out on the field, playing with people that you have to trust so fully, that they will give you their all in return for your hustle. Having that competitive nature, trying to win every 50/50 ball... there's nothing in the world like playing soccer.

It is that feeling from soccer that I am so grateful for. You have to work so hard to be successful, and if you don't give it your all every day, you might not make it. But if you do, regardless of bumps that come along the way, you will get what you really need (and usually it's what you want as well). You listen to professional soccer players say how they are always training, always giving the best they can, always trying to improve. Because they love what they do, and they want to be the best they possibly can. They want to have the chance to represent the team they're playing for, and maybe even a chance to represent their country.

That feeling, of working hard, being the best you can, it can be expanded into any facet of life. I've been frustrated the past few weeks, feeling a bit overwhelmed with the workload this quarter (only about 7 more weeks... thank god.). Putting it into perspective with soccer, you can make correlations with it. You work hard to get where you need to go (aka where you are at this moment), but you can't revel in the fact that you made it. You have to continue to achieve things that you may not thought to be possible. You represent your university where you study, where you research, where you make new discoveries. You represent your country with what you do, whether you think about it that way or not. Don't think of it as pressure, think of it as motivation. You want to be the best you can, because at the end of the day, you are representing yourself.

I can find motivation in small things, whether it is role models and their work ethic, or it's a dream I want to accomplish. I've gotten this far, why not go as far as I can?

And on the days that seem too dreary, seem to just take the wind out of your sails, just remove yourself from the situation for a minute. Think of what you want to achieve, and what it will be like once you do. Then get back in there, get training, get motivated. The opportunity is yours for the taking: just do it.

What has motivated you to get to where you are today? What continues to motivate you? Where do you get your competitive nature? What drives you to be better than you were yesterday?

Live a life you're proud of and if you need to, have the strength to start all over again.

After a mini hiatus, hibernation, etc., it's back to the grind. Christmas time is always a fantastic time of the year (minus the cold weather); there's plenty of family and friends to get in touch with, a season full of music all about love and remembering the good of people and events, and it's great for reflection of the past year that we've experienced. I had a great Christmas holidays from school, so much so that I almost didn't want to come back. (I did, obviously, because we can't be in vacation mode all the time, as nice as it would be) I hope everyone else had a blessed holiday season as well.

And now somehow it turned into 2012, a whole new year! A new year to redefine yourself, change your view, or to dig deep and continue on with the path you are on. There are very subtle choices that we make at the start of each new year, resolutions that we make with the best intentions. (Whether we actually do them or not is another subject in itself lol) Even if we don't make resolutions, there are those choices that we make, unknowningly or not. Like, how will I begin to make this year great? Or, what is a goal I want to set for this year to complete? Might sound like resolutions, but I don't like making them, because I almost always give up by mid-January. But I do like goals.

These small choices that we make at the beginning of this year made me think of the lives we choose to live. The way life plays out is based on choices that we make, small or big. While there may be a curveball thrown in every once in a while, life is what you make it. How you deal with those curveballs gives you the life you're going to live. Is it the one that you want to live? Is your life one that you are proud of living? You might not have to work to cure cancer, or be a CEO of a company, or something that defines you as "successful" by society's standards to be proud of your life. Or do you? What makes you proud of the life you're living? Is it based on money, success in your career, material "toys" that show off how well off you're doing? Or is it more than that? Is it the family and friends and people that are in your life that makes you proud? Do you continue to find joy in the small things in life, or is it always about the bigger picture? Is there any way to balance?

Everyone is different in the way they conduct themselves. So wouldn't it make the most sense to find out what you want out of life, and then go for it, regardless if it fits with society's view, or if it's what you are being pushed toward by family, friends, etc.? The people close to you should support you regardless of what you do, as long as you are happy with it and the decisions you have made to get there. But if you find yourself unhappy, change the way you do things. I know it's much easier said than done, but no one said life was easy. The people that seem to have it made and have an easy life most likely worked ridiculously hard to get to where they are. They made tough choices somewhere along the road, and are happy with the choices they made.

That's what I love most about the coming of a new year: looking to the future, while reflecting on the past to learn from mistakes we have made. No one likes to make mistakes, but we all make them. But dwelling on them, it seems to me to be a short term solution. Those past actions happened, and there's nothing you can do to go back and change them. But you can learn from them, and make changes for the future. With a new year ahead of us, there is so much that we can do, learn, experience. So many opportunities we didn't have last year to take advantage of. With our busy lives, that's something that is easy to forget. I know that I definitely need to take my own advice and take advantage of opportunities that come my way (and get me out of my lab once in a while).

Enough with the reflection time... now onto some positive talk. (After all, everyone loves to look at the positive things in life) It's a new year, so let's make the most of it! I know it's hard to take advantage of the beautiful places we're in while it is a bit chilly, but as it starts to get warmer, get outside! Go for a walk, listen to nature's soundtrack, try something you've never done before. Go check out that new restaurant you've been meaning to try. Take a spontaneous roadtrip (whether it's to the next town or states away). A new year means new opportunities! GO DO THEM! Don't just let life slip through your fingers; it is, after all, what you make it.

Everything happens for a reason, and let's make sure we find the positive in every event that takes place. For every dark spot, there is a light side to it as well. Might be hard to see, but it's up to you to find it.

And that's it for me. Sorry if this is a bit disjointed. I've just been in a reflecting mood a bit. Trying to find myself a little bit again. There are so many choices I've had to make already, and it's only been a week into 2012. A bit unnerving, but nothing I can't handle. Off to enjoy the day and night on this January 7th. Hope you can do the same!!! Kisses.