I started soccer when I was only 6 years old, and this sport has become everything for me ever since. I always have a game to watch, and the sport has brought me plenty of joy, along with a lot of despair. I go to as many games near me as I can, and I currently play with my high school varsity team. When I play soccer, I am free and can do anything with the ball. When I start to play my mind clears and all my focus is on the game. I have had my ups and downs in my soccer career, the worst experience I had was in 2017 when I broke my arm and wasn't allowed to play for my team anymore. I plead with my mom to let me play with my cast, but she wouldn't let me. When my cast came off, I was ready to play with my travel team from Taos, however, something was off. In training I did alright, but nothing compared to how I usually played. My coach noticed this in practice so whenever it came time for our tournament, the Gaylord Sheppard Memorial Tournament, he didn't put me in the starting team. The tournament consisted of only a few games in 2 days, and although I did get subbed in to play, I had little to no impact on the team or game, and we ended up losing the tournament and I had the worst performance. My dad and coach told me I had to play better, and that is what I was set to do after the tournament. I learned from this experience, I couldn't always be at my best, but I have to work hard regardless and have a good mindset to keep going and do better. If I had to choose a moment in my soccer career to choose as the best I wouldn't be able to decide. I could choose between scoring my first goal, scoring a goal from halfway across the field, going to my first tournament, or being named in the all-district second team. I will choose the time my team won the Gaylord Sheppard Memorial tournament. This will always be an all-time favorite moment in my soccer career, I scored my first tournament goal, and we won a game by a landslide. Before this tournament, the Taos travel team in our age group had never won a tournament or won more than 2 games. Our first game came and we won 7-1, where I scored my first goal, and in the next game we got a bit unlucky and tied 1-1, but with these results, we made it to the final. In the final, we won our last game and I had a good performance. The moment the final whistle blew, we all started jumping and celebrating and we couldn't believe it, and the whole moment felt surreal. Playing soccer has helped me build my leadership and teamwork skills. I want to continue to play soccer even as I grow older, even if this means becoming a youth soccer coach, which I already have experience with since I want to help the kids play the best they can and have the same amount of joy that I have when I play soccer. This scholarship can help me with my goals because I want to continue my education in college, possibly play soccer for a college team, and continue to grow my skills in soccer, teamwork, and leadership.