Elva Hernandez '21 Recruiting Profile

As I walked into the room with a hospital bed in the center of the space, beeping machines, a bulky television hanging on the wall, the smell of sterilized objects, and the sound of curtains opening and closing; I sit on the cold sheets of the bed and wait for my results. Waiting on the bed I thought “ what if I had this, what if my life changes after I get my results back”. Many minutes later I heard footsteps coming towards my room. A hand appears on the side of the curtain and the voice of a lady arises “may I come in” after my mother said yes I shook a bit because when the doctor would open her mouth again I would either be relieved or scared for the future. Her mouth moved as both me and my mother moved closer to our seats to hear her and I heard “ your tests came back negative”, I couldn't be more relieved that I didn't have cancer. My mother did not show it but I could tell she was emotional by the way she talked. She was happy I didn't have cancer but I also thought of the times I would go to the hospital with my dad and brother to visit her after her surgeries and how I would take care of her after them. She was happy that I wouldn't have to go through that.
Many years later when I was about 9 I started playing in a soccer team, I was stressed as a young child, from taking care of my mom through her surgeries, helping my brother prepare to go to school every morning and making sure I completed all the things my mom did for my family. At first, soccer was becoming stressful as well, not because it was hard to do but because I would have to find rides to practice; but after an, I while figured it out and it became my stress reliever. In a way, this sport saved me from me. I couldn't imagine what I would be without it; would I be closed off and distant from people? It wouldn't matter because I took the path to become a soccer player. To this day soccer has been my way to escape my problems outside of the field. Not only have I became sociable but responsible due to playing soccer. I have met so many people that share the same passion as me and now I have the strongest bond with those people. I have got accustomed to doing homework and chores at certain times to avoid conflict with the time I have to focus on soccer which has shaped me to be accountable. As a result of playing this sport, it has shown me the wonderful things having a strong passion for something can do and the happiness that comes with it.