Every moment I spent in Paraguay will stay with me forever.
What impacted me the most was the perspective the kids I met in this small town had on life. Initially, I felt bad for them because I compared my life to theirs. In my mind, I believed it would be a lot harder for them to reach their goals due to their quality of life and social stigmas.
Once I spoke in Spanish and connected with them, I realized that they don’t see the challenges that I do. Instead of focusing on everything that made it harder to reach their goal, they worked hard and thought of every way possible to make that goal happen.
Julia with young girls who she gifted backpacks to at a school in Paraguay.
I remember talking to Natalia, a girl who is a part of our Las Pioneras soccer team in Coronel Bogado. She was telling me about her dream to be a part of the army when she was older. She explained to me it is uncommon for a girl to join the army in their culture and that many people judge her, but she is not letting it stop her.
Julia with young girls at GSW partnered school in Paraguay.
When she was talking, she was passionate and determined to reach her goal and fight for her country. I could tell that she was so happy and the smile on her face made my day.
I loved hearing her talk about her dream and her plan to overcome the challenges that come with it. This really inspired me to think differently about the hardships in life.
Julia is a 2019 Girls Soccer Worldwide™ Ambassador. CLICK HERE to read more.
Learn more out the Girls Soccer Worldwide Ambassador for Change Leadership Program.
