Since the age of four, I had always played a sport. I had played soccer almost all my life, moved all the way up to play club soccer and eventually received college offers. Right before graduation, I made the tough decision not to play in college. Since then, I often wondered if I would I regret my choice?

After spending my first year in college, I can say I absolutely do not regret it. After deciding that being a student-athlete might not be the college experience I wanted, I weighed out the pros and cons. When it came down to it, my career path was not to play professional soccer. I wanted to focus more on my career as a journalist in college and not spend as much time focusing on a sport.

I loved soccer, and I still do. It really taught me how to manage my time wisely throughout my life. Playing a club sport takes up so much of your time. In high school, I constantly had to miss out on social events because of the amount of time it took out of my weekdays and weekends. It was worth it at the time, but at some point, you wonder if there is more to life than a sport.

And there is.

This year was the first year I spent in my entire life not dedicated to a sport, but to myself. I have been able to attend any and every social event I wanted. I was able to meet new people, and not just because they were on the same sports team as me. I joined three clubs this year, all relating to my career. I have never had this much time to focus on my schoolwork.

Playing a sport in high school was fun and rewarding but there is no way I could have been able to accomplish all my goals for this year while playing. It gave me a sense of passion and dedication. Now I know that with hard work, anything is possible. I am now able to apply that to my work ethic in school and career.

I will always love playing the sport and having it being a part of what shaped me. But eventually I had to say goodbye to that chapter in my life and I decided sooner than later. I took the opportunity to re-create myself, not as an athlete, but as a passionate, educated student. I am working hard in school in hopes that will one day it will lead to my dream job. So as I sit here in my dorm room, finishing up my last two weeks of my first year of college, I have to say I do not regret my decision to not be a college athlete. In fact, I wouldn't have it any other way.