My name is Anaïs Bonnemaison, a French student-athlete, and as Maggie, I moved to the U.S. on my own and with a small support system. Furthermore, I did not speak or understand English, but I was determined enough to pursue my dream of playing basketball and studying criminal justice in the United States. It took me two months to actually start speaking a little, before that, I was only answering "yes" and "no" and hoping that my answer was the right. I spend most of my time listening to people talking and trying to remember the words to develop my knowledge and vocabulary. I was brave enough to leave my family one month after turning 18 years old. I missed and will miss more Christmas, and birthdays than I would ever thought I would miss. The hardest part was not being able to say bye to my grandma before she passed away, but those moments made me who I am today. In everything I do, I love challenges. And we all know that going to another country to study or play a sport is not always easy. I had to adapt myself to the new culture, the new education, the new politics, and the new way of thinking. I put my fear of the unknown away, and push forward. However, I did and will fail numerous time, but what matter the most is your answer to adversity and how you going to come back on track and follow your dreams. And that is how I can relate to Maggie's experiences. Being alone in a new environment can create a lot of self-doubts, about whether you are good enough to be here, capable of achieving what you came for, or if you deserve it, but at the end of the day, you are just where you are supposed to be, and now that you have your two feet in, you have to go after it. Moreover, another aspect that Maggie and I are alike is our devotion to education and knowledge, to become an expert on whatever we set our minds to. It takes time and effort, but the reward you get after working so hard for your life is priceless. After struggling to learn English and see how much knowing another language could open doors for my future job, I decided that I wanted to be fluent in two other languages that I already understand, Spanish and Italian. Life away from home is always challenging, but my will to succeed and become what I want to be is enough to always fight and never give up even during the worst part of my life. I always wanted to be the better version of myself, for myself, but also for the people around me.

Being an international student-athlete is not always easy, so started to read a lot of self-development books to help me fight the barriers that I encountered. One book that greatly impacted my life was "The Mountain Is You: Transforming Self-Sabotage Into Self-Mastery", by Brianna Wiest. This book is about sabotaging yourself. Why we do it, when we do it, and the best way to permanently quit. Conflicting needs that coexist lead to self-destructive acts. Because of this, we often fight against change until it seems absolutely pointless. But we can get out of our own way and realize our potential by gaining essential knowledge from our worst habits, developing mental agility by better comprehending our brains and bodies, letting go of the past at an individual level, and learning to behave as our best future selves. The mountain has acted as a symbol for the significant obstacles we come across my life, particularly those that appear insurmountable. As the author said in this book "What you believe about your life is what you will make true about your life". I believed I could leave my family right after my 18th birthday because I believed that Canada would be a better place for my studies and my basketball career. Then, I started to believe that signing with an American university would be another better idea for my future. I believed that I could do it, that I could face every challenge, every "mountain" such as a new culture, a new language (I was not speaking English or understand at all before. moving here), or last but not least being far from my family and missing Christmas, or birthday, etc. I believed I could do it, and I did. Here I am, seven years later, about to graduate in Spring, playing my last season of college basketball, and looking forward to what the future is going to bring me.

My name is Anaïs Bonnemaison, a young woman fighting for her dream. I knew coming to the United States would not be easy, but my willingness to follow my dream overcame my fear. The biggest obstacle as a non-U.S. citizen student/athlete was to understand and speak. I moved to the United States without speaking and barely understanding English. I came here to get a better opportunity for my basketball career, but more importantly, for my future job. For the first two/three months, I was only answering yes and no when people were asking questions. Most of the time, I was guessing an answer and praying I was answering correctly. I was not talking a lot, but I was listening and making tonnes of lists of words to create and learn as much vocabulary as I could. I was also watching a lot of movies in English, put my phone in English, and did everything I could to get better at it as fast as possible. Developing relationships with teammates, coaches, and everyone else is really hard when you do not speak their language. So, at first, I really felt lonely, even more, when I had to face the reality that my family was on the other side of the ocean and that if I had a problem most of the time, I could not even call them because of the time difference. However, I was lucky to find people, like my criminal justice professor and some of my teammates, that was really patient and took time with me, and helped me to develop my communication skills and everything that I needed to know to survive college as a non-U.S. citizen. Those people are still in my life, and they became family. When you arrive in another country, it is essential to learn about the other culture, language, and values to make sure that you fit in rapidly. And thanks to those people around me, I could find my second family, and today, I am perfectly capable of communicating with people. I am not going to lie, I still struggle at the restaurant, for example, because people do not always understand my accent. So, I had to learn to be patient and not feel offended. The language barrier, as much as the cultural barrier, is really something that you face and work daily as a non-U.S. citizen. But I would never trade my life. All these barriers, failures, and obstacles make me who I am today. I always aspire to do things big for a little girl coming from a little town. Since I was nine years old, I always wanted to play basketball in the United States and work for the Federal Bureau of Investigation. This is why coming to the United States was the best decision in my life. Pursuing post-secondary education and obtaining a bachelor's degree in criminal justice while playing basketball for the team university got me closer to my dream. Having a 4GPA and trying to graduate with this would open many doors and allow me to have the life I dreamed of as a nine-years-old girl.

As a first-generation, I felt I had the responsibility to help the next generation in my little town back in France. I did not grow up with crazy things around me, but the little intention was the most meaningful for me. My family always put my sister and me first and allow us to complete our education. So, when I had the opportunity to play basketball and study overseas in the United States, I knew I had to give back this amazing opportunity. This is why, when I go back during the summer and I go to see my old basketball club play and young kids ask me about my experience, I make sure to have a positive impact on them and their education, but also on the importance of following their dream and maybe go beyond what they think they are capable of. I want to share my life, and show them that leaving home, and changing country to chase my dream was my best decision and that everyone can do it with the right opportunity. Moreover, I want the kids from my neighborhood to see how important a good education is and how it can affect the rest of your life. And it is always a pleasure to hear parents asking me questions for their kids and then months later receiving pictures or texts message from them thanking me for the advice and for pushing people to live their lives and develop a good education to have the best opportunities in life after all. After graduating in psychology from a Cegep in Canada, then obtaining my associate degree in Criminal Justice in my juco in Texas, and now on my way to graduating and having a bachelor's degree in Criminal Justice, I realized how much I am lucky to have a family that gave me the opportunity to succeed and sharing this experience with kids from my small town is my way to say thank you and encourage others to do it because if I did it, then everyone can do it. It takes a lot of courage and independence, but it helps people to create their own identities and make their families proud. Furthermore, when I look back I want to say to my kids what I did and give them the same opportunities. I want to tell my story to every kid that dream to study or/and play their sport in the United States that is possible, the only obstacle is you. So, go for it. I want to receive more pictures and text messages asking me a question about how to leave there, how to find a school, which major should I choose, etc. I want to be part of this little community that shares its experience to push young people to take the first step toward what could be the best decision of their lives.

Coming to the United States was one of the most impactful moments of my life. I decided to leave France to study criminal justice and criminology to have a better view and understanding of the topic. In my country, France, we do not have those studies, or just a certificate, meaning one year of study. That is one main reason I decided to go to the United States to learn how the American criminal system works and compare it with the french one. While at the same time, I develop myself and my knowledge to be able to help my home country. After the 2015 and 2016 terrorist attacks, I felt like the criminal system shifted. And having different perceptions and an outside view on the topic can help me to become a better police officer back in France. I would be more open-minded in a different situation and could give more options to solve a problem with my team. The impact and the influence of my American education, mixed with my culture and french education, can allow me to give my hundred percent to my country. The values shared through every individual part of the criminal justice system in America amazed me. The devotion of every individual to their country is astounding. It is so respectful, and I want to transmit this positive impact to my country through my career. Before coming to the United States, I was in Canada for two years, with another criminal system. I truly think that mixing the best of the three countries and thinking about each other's mistakes from the past could help me in my career and help develop a new education system for the french criminal system. More than just the criminal justice system, the United States and Canada allow me to grow fast and give me a better understanding of cultures around the world. These travels created who I am now and strengthened all my dreams and objectives in life. It gives me more opportunities and chances through every life lesson to succeed. As a french student in the United States, I want to show other young people back in France that it does not matter who you are or where you are from, if you have a dream, follow it without any doubt because if I did not take my courage of leaving France, I would not be who I am today. Canada and the United States helped me to find myself thanks to the influence of each culture.

From day one in my career, the one that inspired me is my godmother. She was one of the best weightlifting in France in her category. She won at the departmental, regional, and national levels. She had one of the most impressive work ethics. She was a single mother of two kids that fought for her dream, and in parallel, she was an amazing mother. She learns how to deal with her two life and two passion between being a mom and an athlete. This is why she is such a model for me as an international student-athlete, it is not easy every day, but she always reminded me to fight for my dream and that the only limit is the one that my mind put. She taught me to trust my talent and trust who I am because she knew I had the potential to do big things. She pushed me to give my hundred percent every day, at practice, during class, during games, or just in my social life. She was one of the most wonderful athletes and individuals that I ever met, and even when she started to be sick she would enjoy her life and the people around her. She gave so much to the one she loved that sometimes she forgot herself. She helped me to be the player and the person I am today with all the hard workouts she makes me do, all the energy she transmits, all the messages before every game, all the texts to congrats me and support me through every low moment of my life. Since she passed away, her strong mindset of fighting for our dreams remain inside me, and every big and little positive step in my life is because of her. Before every game, I would sit alone, focus, and think about what my godmother would say or do if she was still there. She is one of these people that have had a huge impact on me. Before she passed away, I could not see her and say goodbye, so I wrote her a letter explaining that I was recruiting in the United States and that she was right to trust and put so much on me, but also that I will keep playing for her and make her proud of me. She transmits to me her passion, love, and dedication to our sport. She makes me open my eyes and trust my talents by focusing on my dream and seeing how, when you want something so bad, and by working really hard, you will attract and force your dream to come to you. Like she always told me, everything starts by working hard every day, and the only person you should compare yourself to is who you were yesterday, no one else.

My name is Anais Bonnemaison, I am from France, and after graduating from Canada and playing over there I wanted to pursue my dream of playing in the United States to come true. For two years my coaches give me the chance to studying for free as I was playing for the team. My first experience in the United States allows me to grow up as a person and a player. Since I left home and I could see the world differently. I could open my mind and adapt myself to the country that gives me a chance of becoming a better person. I developed skills to understand better the different cultures in this world. When I arrived I did not know how to talk English and understand it really well, but after sharing moments with people around me, and with experiences, I could graduate with a 4GPA and honor Summa Cum Laude. Like a lot of students and athletes, the covid situation was not easy to deal with, and with the travel canceled to go back home, I spend time with my teammate's family which was a wonderful experience to see the American version of Christmas. All this to say that does not matter the circumstances I am always fighting for what I want, and I will always be thankful for these two years under a full scholarship that permits my mother to put money for her and do not give me everything to allowing me to live my dreams. That why I am writing to you right now. I have been recruiting to play basketball at MSU Denver, I will be studying my study criminology and criminal justice, but covid made recruitment really difficult for Juco players, and in that way, I do not have a full scholarship. So I try to find one to help me to pay my insurance and my meal plan.