The London Heathrow Airport - Student Equity and Engagement Center

Sitting in the lounge at London Heathrow Airport was the most insane feeling, as I was thinking about how crazy it was that I was leaving my family and friends behind. I was traveling to the USA alone and was terrified, yet excited for the future ahead of me.

Before boarding the plane, a text popped up from my mother. It was a five-minute video of all my friends and family wishing me good luck. It made me sad, but it also reminded me how much support I have back home.

In May of 2023, I had surgery on my left hand, which affected my playtime as a goalkeeper. I was casted for 12 weeks, followed by a 4-week brace, and ended up having surgery. I was out of the sport I loved for around 5-6 months, I thought my soccer career was gone.

As an international student, dealing with an injury is twice as hard, mainly because you have no family to support you. However, surrounding myself with a great support system here in the USA definitely helped my experience and recovery.

I took care of myself by staying busy with friends and avoided sitting at home all day, because I knew it wouldn’t benefit me. Surrounding myself with people who cared helped me the most. I used Facetime with family and friends for extra support to get through the injury, as they always support me from across the world.

I did my best to stay in the gym and train in cardio. I kept a positive attitude to stay in the gym. Everyone’s journey looks different, it’s all about how you approach those challenges.

Ultimately after this injury, I realized caring for not only my physical but mental health is very important to me.

While I recovered, I had a lot of time to self reflect. I noted that only I can fix my situation by taking action. I started to read "High Performance (The Daily Journal) 365 Ways to Be Your Best." The book has changed my views and ways of thinking around sports performance and in life in general. Most importantly, the book has changed how I self-reflect.

It's now my third year here in the States, and I wouldn't change anything. I always recommend to people back home to look at international school as an option. For an international student, it's a big risk moving 6,000 miles across the world. The risk comes with great benefits, such as meeting new people and friends from other countries and learning about other cultures.

For those reading, my best advice is to stay in the present. Sometimes, people look too far back or too far forward. Practice gratitude for where you are right now. I do my best to keep a positive mindset, as I remind myself that I am here to be happy and enjoy life, so there is no point wasting time looking for the negative.

With experience, you will learn to worry about the things in life you can control, and not the challenges you can't.