My sophomore year of college is now over and I couldn't be any more thankful for the things that happened over the past year. It was definitely one of the most stressful years I've had to date, but without it, I wouldn't be where I am now.

I started the year off thinking it was going to be the best one yet. I was so excited for it to begin. Preseason was over, and we were getting into the fall season, I had new classes with new people, I was living in an apartment, I was back with all my friends and more. But, I quickly realized that it wasn't going to be as great as I thought. I shared a room with my roommate from freshman year and then we had two random roommates. Meeting them, we figured out that it was going to be an interesting year.

I will say, having these roommates who were polar opposites of each other taught me a little lesson in tolerance. Living with people you don't know is always a challenge between having rules in the apartment and then actually trying to communicate them. We had some troubles throughout the year, and I'm glad to be out of there, but if it weren't for that, I wouldn't have learned about communicating concerns and issues with people you don't necessarily get along with.

Soccer this year was a rollercoaster. Continuing to endure the countless hours spent at the field and in the weight room certainly became really difficult this year. Now, that I had been on the team for a year, the standards and expectations were raised. Nonetheless, with these expectations comes stress. The hardest part of soccer for me this year was the spring season. Spring is our off season, which means more running, heavier lifting, early morning training sessions and crazy unpredictable weather. Although the spring season is long and grueling, you learn something new about yourself every time.

You go the extra step to finish the workout, you lift more than you ever thought you could, you pick up your teammates when the grind really sets in and you find out how much work you're willing to put in to go toward the success in the fall. Soccer continually challenges me, and sometimes I break down, but soccer this year really pushed me to my limits. Through all the tears and the stress, I can confidently say that this season has taught me a lot about myself both as an athlete and as a person in general.

Lastly, the people in my life. To those I've continued to be friends with this year and to the people I met. Thank you. All the people I have met since I've been in college have all developed me to some capacity. Whether it was testing my patience and kindness, being there for me, hanging out with me, inviting me places, going on adventures, staying up late, making music etc. I'm so thankful for it all. Sometimes I really felt alone throughout the year and would get upset about situations with the people I involved myself with, but at the end of the day, I've grown from it. For those that I've gotten to know even better, and those that I just met this year, they are awesome, and I appreciate them more than they will ever know.

So, here's to sophomore year. Two years down, two more to go. I'm halfway done with college, and I can't believe how close I am to adulting. I'm excited for the next two years at Xavier University, and I'm counting down the days until I return to campus for junior year.