What is the soccer club that you joined for the next season?

The club itself is semi-pro — half-pro, half-not-pro. I made it to a college-level team, so I get to play for them.

Why is making this club a big deal for you?

This is a big deal for me, despite me quitting for a couple years and coming back. Not many people believed I could make it far in my soccer playing — especially to a college level — and it was really amazing when I proved them wrong.

How long have you spent learning and practicing soccer to get to the place you are now?

Right now, I have been playing for four years, but I would say I have been playing it for three years consistently. I quit for a couple years in seventh or eighth grade and when I started to go back I lost all my skills — I wasn’t quite as fit to do the work. It took a ton of guts to keep going on my soccer journey. I had a lot of criticism for not being able to play at a college level. When I was younger I played for fun, but now I have to fight for my position on the team.

Where do you want to go from here with your soccer playing?

Right now, I just want to continue growing and improving my skill with this Vlora team. They have the opportunity to challenge me to grow. I’m not sure if I want to go fully pro, but if it arises I would be down for it. Right now, women’s soccer doesn’t pay as well, so it is a bit iffy to play soccer as a woman. For me to be able to make ends meet while playing soccer I would have to pick up another job and both would just require a ton more work.

If anyone else wanted to join this program how would they go about it?

I would just say go ahead and practice. Practice makes perfect, and if you really want something at this point, you just need to give it your all. Show you are different from everyone else and put it on the table. Show the others that you can do it.