2016

Kickoff in the second leg of the Eastern Conference Semifinal between the New York Red Bulls and the Montréal Impact -- November 6, 2016 at Red Bull Arena

After four minutes of stoppage time, referee Baldomero Toledo blew his whistle, and the match was over. In one corner of Red Bull Arena, around a hundred visiting Montréal Impact fans erupted, celebrating as their team had qualified for the MLS Eastern Conference finals for the first time in their history.

On the pitch, many New York Red Bulls players gathered in the center. Bradley Wright-Phillips fell to the ground, on his back, knees bent, hands on his face. Sacha Kljestan, with tissues up his bleeding nostrils, came towards the press box, but only to grab water.

This was the first time, as a member of the media, I had been at Red Bull Arena for a loss. Despite that, it didn't feel particularly different. I continued typing away on my computer, writing a match report about the Red Bulls being eliminated from the MLS Cup playoffs, as was part of the description, being a beat reporter for the Red Bulls for Double G Sports.

It wasn't until I decided to pack up and head down to the press conference room that I realized it would be my last time at Red Bull Arena until the new year. I took in the remainder of the second floor I still had to walk through in order to get to the staircase. In the press conference room, I again forgot it was the end, focused on working. But on the trip home, I recalled my last time in the stadium of the year, in addition the last time I would cross the border between New Jersey and New York, and the last time I would pack my laptop bag (which I incorrectly predicted).

***

I know the narrative of 2016 is that it was, pardon my French, a pretty shitty year. I'd agree, to a certain extent, for the reasons most people would cite. But, personally, I had a lot to celebrate, particularly the beginning of my career as a soccer journalist.

It hit me unexpectedly at the beginning of March. I was sitting in my school cafeteria, downing a sandwich before my Online Journalism class when my older sister sent me a tweet, from Women United FC: “Want to write for us? Our new site launches this spring. Join in. Just send us a message or reply to this.” So I did. A few days of conversation with the editor, Chandrima, through Twitter direct messages and email, led to me finding out, on my sister’s birthday (yes, the aforementioned older sister) on the New Jersey PATH, that I was officially part of the WUFC team.

Tasked with writing a match report of the New York Red Bulls-Toronto FC match on the first Sunday of the 2016 MLS season I was already headed to, I wrote the whole thing while riding multiple trains of the New York metro area. I don’t remember if it was any good -- I suppose it was then I began a habit of blocking out my own work in case it was bad -- but, nonetheless, it was the first time I had published something outside of my own blog. I happily reported the news to my parents that night, after coming back from the match, eating birthday cake.

I won’t detail the rest of my work experience -- that’s what the rest of the website is supposed to do -- but I will summarize a bit (and perhaps drone on a bit too much). From there, I went through nine months where my Twitter mentions were more active than ever (a fact that led to a professor using me as a joke once), in which I was introduced to many friendly soccer people, and I was entrusted with the duties of writing soccer content, which I take as an ultimate compliment.

Less than a year ago, I would be surprised I was at this place; it had become a dream after I received a compliment from my English teacher in tenth grade, so the fact that I would get into it at some point is no shock. The fact that I would be doing this while I was still a student, though, is what took me by surprise. It all fell into my lap all at once, where I have some amount of experience.

I enjoyed every minute of it, though it wasn’t always easy. I had to do a lot of learning, and a lot of editing, but I’m very happy with the way this experience has turned out thus far. I feel very fortunate, and very thankful. To those that gave me platforms to express my opinions, meet new people, and realize that I actually like what I set out to do in high school -- Chandrima at Women United FC, Kirsten at Unusual Efforts, Kevin at SB Nation, Gregg at Double G Sports, and Dustin at Cartilage Free Captain -- thank you. I’ve become a better writer because of all of you.

I must give additional thank yous to some people at my school, Fordham University, where I learned to hone some skills. Professors Jordan and Torregrosa, thank you for allowing to flex my creative brain in a place with room for error, and to my former news editor at The Observer, Stephan, for allowing me to diversify my experience and not write about soccer (if it was only for a few brief months).

To those of you who read anything I wrote, even something as small as a tweet, and enjoyed it even a little bit, thanks. I, obviously, don’t know you all, but the sentiment is very much appreciated.

A final thank you has to go to my family -- my parents and my two sisters -- for always being a great support system. I’ll always remember my first fans. Additionally, I’ll thank my friends, who always seemed so impressed by my latest career developments. Though the gig isn’t as glamorous as you guys make it out to be, I’ll take the compliments.

***

Now that I’m done recapping, it’s time for me to leave 2016 in the past, mostly because time is forcing me to (though 2016, in some ways, deserves to be left behind). I’m excited for what 2017 holds, and the more firsts it may bring.

I’ll take this opportunity to wish everyone a wonderful 2017, and as many good moments, big or small, that you can experience in a year.

See you then!