Life is all about living in the present and enjoying every moment isn't it? Rather than seeking the future, everyone should be looking at the big picture, right?
Here I go rambling about my frustrations of the direction my retirement from soccer is taking me. Don't get me wrong, I love my LIFE. I honestly could not be happier that I will be marrying the man of my dreams this year and always have love and support from my amazing family and friends.
There is a small hole that is missing though and that is a job/career.
As a little girl, I was always around sports. Seeing people become so successful at their sport and it taking them so far in life set off the wrong impression. I assumed that was the direction my life was always going to go. It's very safe to say that is where I fell short, I will never regret my decision to pursue soccer as a lifelong ambition; but it is something I will forever learn from.
Making the decision that soccer was all I wanted to do made me focus less on school. I just breezed throughout college academics, studying very little and procrastinating homework until the last minute. Therefore I didn't get the GPA that reflects the person I am or what I am capable of.
Making the decision that soccer was all I wanted to do made me focus less on school. I just breezed throughout college academics, studying very little and procrastinating homework until the last minute. Therefore I didn't get the GPA that reflects the person I am or what I am capable of.
I always had dreams of playing soccer as long as I could and getting it to open other opportunities in the soccer world. I didn’t care if it was playing or even coaching, I wanted to be around soccer. My knees, body, and other personal reasons made me decide it was time to let soccer go as a professional athlete. I will stay involved with soccer forever but I am not sure in what kind of shape or form. I should have realized a long time ago that when it comes to sports I should have looked at the bigger picture and gave it 100% in academics. You never know what injuries you may overcome or what other life threatening issues may get in the way.
This brings me to my next dilemma. I had a coaching job, but we were told by my fiancé, Adam's company that we would be out by the new year. So, I told the head coach that it was just going to be a one season gig. It was back in late October that we were told we would be here Laredo, Texas until May. I have been looking all over for jobs here in from positions in retail at the mall, serving/hostess at different restaurants, that hire people with a Bachelors in psychology, to paraprofessional or even a teaching aide in a school. I have FOUND absolutely NOTHING. I've sent out about 50-60 applications and have not gotten any leads. The most frustrating thing is I see the same jobs getting reposted every week, even after I sent in my applications.
I can only think of three reasons why I am not getting hired: 1.) I'm Deaf so it leads them to assume the worst about my communicating ability, even though I can speak and read lips. 2.) You need to know Spanish; first of all, this is an issue because we are in the United States of America, you NEED to know English, no if's, and’s or but's; which is obviously my opinion. 3.) And lastly because I don't have my masters in psychology or any on the job "experience."
I have no more complaints about the first two because people who know me know being Deaf isn't and will never be an issue unless I'm dealing with the music industry or any type of job that would require me to be on a phone; I mean a lot of things are handled through social networks and emails nowadays anyway is it?
I think the fact that most companies requesting that you need your BA degree plus 2-3 years of experience make it very difficult for the people with no experience to actually get the experience they need to move on in their lives. Working long and hard for that 4 year degree definitely does not mean that a graduate will find a job easily. I have come across SO many different kinds of people that are seem extremely intelligent but don’t have the adequate people skills and don’t have the work ethic that makes them deserving of their job. I could name so many people that do not have on the job experience or degree greater than a BA and they would be a MUCH better fit for a job than someone who has obtained their masters or has the “needed” experience.
Now this is why I'm stuck no matter what I do because I did not put forth the effort I should have when I was working toward a BA in psychology. I didn’t have time to work any hours at any type of job or any other extracurricular activity because I was busy working hard on chasing my soccer dream. Which, again I will reiterate… I will never regret the many hard hours I put into soccer, only that I did not see the importance of academics when I was so fueled by the love I had for the sport. I am just hoping a school is willing enough to give me a second opportunity to further my education and get my masters OR that there is a company out there that is willing to give me a chance to make a difference in people's lives.
This is not a cry for help by any means. Just wanting to share my experiences.
My advice from my experiences to yours: FOCUS on academics just as much as you focus on your dreams. Academics will get you far in life and sometimes you don't get second chances.
But I will be sure I find that second chance someway, somehow, someday!
I will NEVER give up.
