Philippines National Team

I feel so blessed that my dreams are coming true!  First the Real World (although afterwards I was like.. huh didn't need that lol) and now this.  For me soccer has been a part of my whole life since I was 4.  I don't know anything like I know soccer.  Soccer is my passion.  When I am on the field, I am in my element.  I never feel more like myself.  I am confident (except some times a little less confident when we are playing teams like FSU or UVA), but still confident.  I thought soccer was going to be over after high school!  Well I intended to play D3 at the Coast Guard Academy and then I got a scholarship to Loyola, something I never thought tangible.  I didn't think I was good enough to even play D1, let alone get a full ride! So I had to take it.  Soccer has been number one my whole life.  I have sacrificed a lot for it.  Our family vacations were my soccer tournaments.  I had to drive 2 hours to some practices in high school!  I didn't take sick days.. i took soccer days lol.. and after college when it was all over.. i kidna didn't even kno who i was or what i wanted to do with my life.. i didn't go to school to go to school. i went to play soccer.. i didn't care nearly as much about school as i would have with out soccer.  so then the real world happened. and then some random jobs after that.. and then out of nowhere i ask my friend cynthia about the philippines national team (the women's world cup was going on obvi) and she gave me the info and i said what the heck ill email them..

and now i find my self training to be on a national team.. hey its not the US, but still this big. and in fact this may mean even more to me than being on a team that was in the world cup final.. because this is my family.  this is my other half.. this is something i haven't had the chance to get to kno as much as i would have liked to.  

i grew up in a predominantly white town with surprisingly a handful of filipinos (musta been that navy base lol).  but when i got to high school all the filipinos were at the other high school.. and other than a couple yearly filams (filipino american get togethers) and birthdays.. i really was detached from that side of me... my mom didn't teach me the language and i really didn't kno a lot other than a few random traditions and silly superstitions. 

when i got to college i stumbled upon the asian culture alliance after my friends invited me to go one day.. naturally, the club had lots of filipinos.  this wasn't until my sophomore year tho. and the year before i got the chance to go to the philippines to visit my family over there.  our whole family went and it was one of the best trips of my life.  this is what made me want to know and learn and be a part of this culture even more.

and now i find myself training to go overseas to those islands I have only been once in my life to represent the people.  i am honored for such an opportunity and honestly a little nervous.  if you kno anything about filipinos you kno that they are good people.  they are loving, honest, proud, oh the list could go on.  they are the type of people that with barely anything they will give you their everything.  they are some of the most caring respectable people on the planet.  i am happy to be able to call myself a citizen (paperwork pending). and if its one thing i hope to do... it's to make the Philippine nation and people proud.  and most of all my mother and family. yeaaa real world really didn't help with that one!

it starts today! LET"S GO MALDITAS!!!!