Sophia Smith

"I was like, okay, wait, maybe I like my curls. I’m going to leave them and learn how to style them."

"I don’t want anyone to feel like they don’t fit in, or it’s not good to be different or [that], like, there is a normal—because there’s not."

"I wanted to be a player that, when I got the ball, people were on the edge of their seats."

"All those expectations just mean that people believe in me."

"I would do photoshoots and they would require me to have a bubble braid in, and I was like, ‘No, this is my hair. I can wear my hair how I want."

"If things are out of your control, you just have to deal with it and make the most out of every situation."

"The best thing for my mental health is to be in the moment right now, and to take each day as it is."

"You don’t have to have your hair a certain way."

"Let your mind take a rest and just go to a calm, happy place – that’s not stressful. Doing that has helped me become the best version of myself, on and off the field."

"I realized soccer was my favorite sport the second I touched the soccer ball and realized that you could be so free and creative and be yourself."

"To become the best in the world I have to try and get better every day. I have to put myself in uncomfortable and challenging positions. I have to never be satisfied with where I am."

"I still want more from myself – a lot more."