This article is a part of a series of articles that chronicle both my educational and life journey during the 2010s. My last decade started with a high school graduate’s desire to become a pro-soccer player, and ended with a master’s degree from a prominent college in the USA and many wonderful opportunities. But above all, during this decade, I found a purpose and passion in life. I hope this article will inspire you to reflect on and record memories, lessons and principles that have marked your last decade.
2010
The decade started with intense soccer practices. I was 18 and playing for one of the best soccer teams in the country, FK Sarajevo. The winter was tough, my dad without a job and mom working for 600 Bosnian Marks ($400) a month. Her paycheck would disappear in two days, and I would go to school and soccer practices with a piece of bread and some homemade jam spread. This jam was made either of rose him or plum.
I wanted to practice soccer more than ten hours a week, I wanted to go to the gym and become stronger, but I had no resources. In January, my whole team went on a preseason camp in Croatia. I was the only one who stayed home. I simply couldn’t afford it. This seriously affected my playing minutes on the team. I can’t remember if I played a single game from the start. I watched most games from the bench, or I wasn’t invited at all.
April and high-school graduation were coming, and I was looking forward to dedicating myself to soccer completely. This school-soccer-poor-food schedule had been exhausting, and I just wanted to be done with everything. I did graduate with grade 5 (five is the highest grade in high school, one is the lowest), but I knew that my education couldn’t get me anywhere in Bosnia.
My prom in May was fun. My high school rented a hotel where we had a party, and then we went to a bar in Sarajevo and stayed there till 3 a.m. After that Admir, Mirza, Safet, and Nermin went to Admir’s house and partied a little more before we fell asleep. I didn’t drink, and my friends admired my willpower to avoid such a strong temptation. Alcohol was never a temptation for me, I never liked it and I knew that it can destroy individuals and families.
I was hoping that focus solely on soccer would enable me to become a pro. Since I wasn’t in favor with the coach, I decided to leave FK Sarajevo and join NK Visoko, a soccer team in a lower division, but where I could get more minutes. I worked hard in the preseason, and I started every game when the season began in September. I started renting books from a library that was a part of the Franciscan monastery. Sometimes when I would go there, I could see nuns and monks sing.
I met new people on my soccer team and listened to funny jokes from my coach.
2011
I was working hard in January. I would run to soccer practices from my home (about 4 miles), then after practice, I would hit the gym. I started feeling strong and confident. Then I sprained a tight muscle and I was out for a couple of weeks. I was so angry and in disbelief that this happened to me. I worked so hard during the championship break in January, and now I’m weak again.
I was back in time for the start of the season but then had to be substituted early in the first game because the pain came back. Fortunately, I was completely ready for the next game. In April, we went to Berlin to play at a tournament. I had never been to Germany before, and I was very impressed with Berlin and all resources they had to help soccer players develop.
The tournament was to be played in a single day. We had three 50-minute games in the group stage. We won our first two games and then played 0:0 with Hamburger SV, one of the most famous teams in Germany and Europe. While Hamburger’s players had all gear you could imagine, they still weren’t able to beat us.
Then we played a Turkish team in the semi-final game. It was a tough game, but I finally had my moment of glory. I played as a central midfielder, and I received the ball on the right side and started running towards the opponent’s goal. Months before, I was practicing this swerve kick, where I hit the ball slightly left from the center with the right side of my foot. This makes the ball go straight for a second, and then it curves right. I was now on the right side of the field, ready to use my secret kick. The goalkeeper surely thought that I was going to cross, so he got forward and toward his right side. I knew this was a perfect chance to curve the ball that would go away from him. And it did, it went straight into his left corner, and he wasn’t able to catch it. A couple of minutes after this goal I got my second yellow card, so I was out. Then our opponents scored just a minute before the final whistle. However, we won on penalties. In the final game, we played against Hamburger SV again, but this time we beat them 2:0. I made an assist for the second goal. This trip to Germany is one of my favorite memories. I felt so confident about my soccer career.
In May, dad’s friend offered to take me to Sweden and help me start my professional soccer career. I spent three months living in Örebro, a town in midland Sweden. This was the first time I was living on my own. I went to the gym every day and spent practicing soccer 5–6 hours every day. I loved it, and I was hoping to stay. I played in a low division, but I was hoping maybe to sign a contract with Örebro’s U-23 team. Nothing happened because it turned out that my dad’s friend didn’t have such strong connections, and no coaches worked with me individually, as he promised. I was back in Bosnia in September. The club I played for in Sweden gave me about $1000.
Now I didn’t know what to do with my life. I liked my life in Sweden, and now I was back in Bosnia, with no chance to prosper or find success. I wish I knew about software development and programming earlier (I will write about these topics in future articles), but my desire to become a pro in soccer blinded me. I started practicing with a local team, NK Ilijaš. I was hoping to play for them in the second part of the season, but the people from the club didn’t finish my paperwork, and I ended up waiting until summer 2012. Playing for NK Ilijaš would bring about $30 every couple of months. What an excellent salary!
2012
I spent another summer working hard on my soccer skills, but I also decided to sign up for college. My mom convinced me. She believed that I should use my brain and get an education, instead of just chasing the ball. Since I was stuck in Bosnia and without any resources that would help me train more efficiently, going to college sounded like a good idea.
However, I had no idea what to study, and my parents couldn’t give me any advice because they never went to college. I knew I liked English, so I applied to study English at the Faculty of Philosophy, which was a part of the University of Sarajevo. I applied, and a couple of weeks later, I saw my name on the list. I didn’t make it by 0.2 points, or something like that. Since I couldn’t afford to wait for another year or self-finance myself (yes, if you have enough money, you can study at any college in Bosnia and not even go to classes), I decided to see what departments had free spots. Comparative Literature department had open spots, and even though I had no idea what Comparative Literature was, I applied and got in. Soon I started learning about Aristotle’s Poetics and Plato’s ideas about literature. I was reading Homer, Dante, the Bible, and various literary theories. I felt enlightened. I felt like I was having a better understanding of the world, society, and my position in it. My class was huge, and I quickly met some great new friends.
The first semester was fun, and I felt like I learned a lot, but my focus was still on soccer and trying to become a pro.