Most people assume the hardest part of my journey was tearing my ACL twice.
They're wrong.
The hardest battle wasn't physical.
It wasn't surgery.
It wasn't rehab.
It wasn't even losing.
It was doubt.
For years, my dream of playing professional soccer carried me through every setback. When I tore my ACL, that dream gave me a reason to wake up every day and attack recovery. It pushed me through long rehab sessions and difficult moments when quitting would have been easier.
Then college ended.
For the first time, I didn't have a team environment around me. I wasn't surrounded by coaches, teammates, or a structured path forward. Instead, I was alone with my thoughts and a social media feed full of players signing professional contracts.
The longer I waited for my opportunity, the louder the doubt became.
And that's when I learned a lesson I'll carry with me forever:
Failure never came close to ending my dream.
Doubt did.