Maria Camila Osorio
December 24, 2020
“Soccer runs in my family. Both my grandfather and brother played for Columbia in the World Cup. My dad wanted me to play a recreational sport so I asked him to choose between swimming, basketball and tennis. He chose tennis. I started to play and fell in love with the sport. At age 11, I left Columbia and came to Florida. I did not understand one word of English. I lived by myself for three years and did not see my parents often. It was tough to speak to the other players as there was a language barrier and we did not understand each other. Sometimes I wanted to go back home. My dad told me to stay because I wanted to become a professional player. This was my dream and I had to fight for it even though it was not easy. I never thought about quitting tennis but I missed being back with my family. Sometimes I felt sad after losing a match or tired from training. But I had to keep going. For three years, I tried to win a Junior Grand Slam. I visualized winning the 2019 US Open. My family pretended to give me the
“Soccer runs in my family. Both my grandfather and brother played for Columbia in the World Cup. My dad wanted me to play a recreational sport so I asked him to choose between swimming, basketball and tennis. He chose tennis. I started to play and fell in love with the sport. At age 11, I left Columbia and came to Florida. I did not understand one word of English. I lived by myself for three years and did not see my parents often. It was tough to speak to the other players as there was a language barrier and we did not understand each other. Sometimes I wanted to go back home. My dad told me to stay because I wanted to become a professional player. This was my dream and I had to fight for it even though it was not easy. I never thought about quitting tennis but I missed being back with my family. Sometimes I felt sad after losing a match or tired from training. But I had to keep going. For three years, I tried to win a Junior Grand Slam. I visualized winning the 2019 US Open. My family pretended to give me the