A massive part of my life has been sports and fitness, mainly football. I started playing at a young age and quickly developed a love for playing as a goalkeeper. Playing football helped me stay fit and is still helping me through my teenage years. Living in Dubai, I made a lot of my friends through football. At the age of 10, I joined a football club, Spanish Soccer Schools, and was really able to develop as a football player, thanks to the incredible coaches and other players. Along the way I was chosen to join the development squad, meaning the training became tougher and more focused on improvement and I loved it. We were winning most of our games and felt unstoppable. Along with playing in Dubai, we also went on international trips to Cyprus and Spain to play in tournaments but were faced with the harsh reality that we weren't the best u-12 team in the world. 

When I moved to Bali, I had a hard time finding a team so I joined the school team. And we did pretty well. I played for the senior team at the age of 15, helping them win the BSSA tournament, the one official tournament including all international schools in Bali (celebration photo above). But due to the football season being so short, there wasn't much playing time. I now play for a team in Canggu for fun with a few casual games on weekends. 

Football has taught me a lot about life, how there will always be ups and downs but as long as you work hard you will always achieve what you are going for. 

At the age of 8, becoming a goalkeeper was a no-brainer for me. I didn't like running and goalkeepers don't have to run. So my goalkeeping career began. Although I found a passion in goalkeeping, my feelings towards running and fitness changed in the coming years. I started to enjoy exercise and staying healthy. I joined triathlon training sessions after school, completing two at 13. I started watching what I'd eat, going to the gym and started living a more active lifestyle. I often went on 10km runs with my dad and fell in love with running ahead of him and then pretending to sleep while he caught up. Now, running has become an integral part of my life and a good way for me to clear my mind when life gets busy.