Time to go...

Woke up early even though it was Sunday, went for a run and did some lifting. Came back home, showered, ate really quick and start off my English paper. My skype start ringing it was my mom, she called me to say Happy Easter. It was Easter for Orthodox Christian and since I am not home and nobody around me celebrates it and the fact I haven't talk to my family in few days didn’t help at all.  

Easter is one of my favorite holidays because it is one  of rare days when everybody in my family gather together. It made me sad and happy at the same time when I saw all of them together and I was home by myself not even knowing it was Easter. My mom laughed at me and she said that she is excited I am coming home. I already got used to it and I started celebrating holidays I never did before like Thanksgiving for example. I really like that holiday and one day when I have my family I will continue celebrating it for sure. It is interesting how living in another country influence your life. I like learning about different cultures and their traditions.  

I am leaving home in eleven days and I couldn’t be more excited to see my family and friends. Summer is coming and I can't get lazy have to keep working out and getting better. Spring season is over we worked so hard and improved so much, but all that will disappear if we stop working out now. All the hard work we put in to this spring will be gone in less then two weeks if we decide to not do anything now. It is frustrating right, you need months to get in shape and just two weeks to lose everything you worked for. I need to stay motivated and push myself, because on summer I am not going to have my teammates on the track, weight room or court to push me. It is challenging but I am ready. I am so excited for new season and new recruits that are coming to make us better. We build new culture for this program and I couldn’t be more proud of my team. We raised standards and earned respect from other teams, it was hard but we grew so much as a teams but individuals also.  Team is amazing thing it equals to family. We wouldn’t be  the team we are today if it wasn’t our coaches, they are the ones making rules and boundaries. I wouldn’t trade them for anything, every single one of them is special in their own way and that’s why they are perfect package. So thankful and blessed to be a part of UTRGV volleyball culture.  

Danica

We are officially done with spring season. On Saturday we had our last spring match, we played an Alumni game against some of the old players and two of our assistant coaches. The  game was at the Fieldhouse at 3 p.m. To be honest didn't expect people to come and support since the game wasn’t announced or anything. However, some people showed up and supported us, it made me happy that people care about our team and respect all the hard work we have put into this spring. We won 3:2, it was very exciting to play against some of my old teammates and my coaches. We did well as a team, things we were working on the whole spring were finally visible. This game meant a lot to me and I took it  very seriously because it was probably the last time I will ever play with or against Danica. She is also from Serbia and she is one of the reasons I am here today but also helped mold me into who I am today. She is my role model. She played for my coach for four years and after that she was an assistant coach. She was team captain, leader and great student. After she was done with her Bachelors she continued to pursue her masters degree and became a graduate assistant for our team. In her carrier she got a lot of individual awards and won two National Champions with her team. Danica is an amazing player, her serves are deadly and she feels the game. Since I have been around her I have improved, she taught me a few tricks but most importantly she taught me how to be accountable and how to appreciate time spent at the gym. I admire her hard work and dedication. Now, she is about to graduate with her masters degree and she is about to go to Germany and play professional. I couldn’t be more happy for her, she deserves it!! I already mentioned how she is the big part of who I am today. She definitely is, she inspired me and taught me all she knows and now it is all up to me to use it wisely. She showed me with her behavior and actions about how to be a leader and how to try to make people around me better. She went through everything I am going to and she knows how it feels. I am so happy I had her by my side all this time. Danica changed my mentality and she taught me how to be a fighter! While I am playing and bringing some decisions that are connected with the team lots of times I ask my self what would Danica do? It makes me extremely sad that she is leaving but it makes me the happiest person ever because I know how much she wants to continue playing. Volleyball gave me so much and all the people that came with it influence me in one way or another. It is amazing how passion that players share between each other connects us and makes us grow. Most of you see it as a game for fun, but it is so much more. It is one big family that shares good and bad. 

Almost done

We finally came to last weekend and our last spring tournament. This spring was just long and exhausting for everybody but we improved so much as a team but as individuals as well. We were working on speeding up our game and improving our defense and pass. Practice every day, conditioning and all stuff we did paid off. We did very well this weekend and it makes me happy that all our hard work and dedication showed on the court. We played four games, some teams were D1, some D2, and one junior college. It was great opportunity for us to see where we stand and what else we need to improve until fall is here and we are about to start new chapter. From the moment we left it was so much fun, we drove with two cars, my car was blasting with different types of music. We ate and check in, headed to elevator and 13 Chinese kids are coming out of it, 7 of us waiting in front including our couch. Comment our couch made was just hilarious, he said elevator fits 13 Chinese kids, but barely 6 volleyball players. Saturday we started playing at 9, system of playing was kind off different and weird, we play each match for 50 minutes and once the time is out no matter what the score is, the game is done. The best game was against Texas State, we played 1-1. We played awesome, energy we had was just amazing. I am looking forward to fall season and all the games that are coming. I love the team we became and I can’t wait for people to see what we made in just four months. There is few more weeks until I go home for summer, couldn’t be more excited to go home and spent time with friends and family.  

We're on to great things and this is only the beginning..

Sunday Sadness

Just a regular Sunday, you know how it goes you wake up all lazy and the first thing that comes to your mind is that tomorrow is Monday. You try to stay positive but somewhere around 8 p.m crises hits you and you are all miserable thinking about the conditioning that you have at 8 a.m and those three classes that are waiting for you after that. I definitely need that extra day between Saturday and Sunday, how about we add "Satunday" or something like that please, I think a lot of people would agreed on this! I need one more day of laziness before all of Mondays madness hits. However, this Sunday is especially sad for me because today is Sibling's day and I am so far from my brother. We spent whole morning skyping, he made me laugh like he always does. I remember when we were kids we use to fight all the time and I thought we would never get a long but I was mistaken, today he is my best friend and it makes me extremely sad that we are so far away. We talk a lot and I am so excited to see him soon.  

He is a 6'9 feet tall, extremely athletic, he is also volleyball player. He plays for one the best teams in our country and he is senior in high school. Recently he got invited to play for the National team of Serbia, I am so proud of his hard work and dedication. The two of us are completely different in every single aspect, he is chill and relaxed and he doesn’t worry a lot and he doesn’t care what people think, and compared to me, I am just too much and all over the place, can't stand loosing, bad grades, or when somebody doesn't like me. I get pissed easily and sometimes care too much about how other people see me and also my high expectations about everything I am doing will kill me one day. While my brother is just relaxed when it comes to school as long he is passing he is more than satisfied. He loves working out as long the coach is fair to him and his teammates. He doesn’t like when somebody is bossing him around and yelling, as long as you ask him nicely he will do it. Sometimes I feel like he is fearless and doesn’t care about consequences. Even though he never gives maximum effort except when he is working out he is very successful in general. He lives by himself and he is very independent. He always works out, when he is not in practice he is doing some abs at home, running or playing some other sport outside. I love his humor, he is always joking around. He sees world with positive eyes no matter how hard it gets and that’s what I like the most about him! Even though we are different we get along very good now that both of us are grown up, we can talk about everything including sports, music, movies, boyfriends and girlfriends etc. I wish he is part of my every day life in near future since we have been apart for seven years already. I am seeing him just on breaks when I go home during summer and winter. I feel safe around him and I know he is there whatever I need also he knows that I am always there for him whatever he needs. He always text me when he needs paper for one of his classes or money, but also when he needs advice about some girl or friend, which shirt to wear out or for some volleyball advice. I love the trust we have built between each other, it is very important to me. I am so happy and thankful to have him by my side and I hope he can visit me here one day...  

He can put smile on my face no matter what.

We Are Foreign

When we are traveling with the team all dressed the same in school gear with signs of UTRGV, people are always curious and they ask as where are from and what do we play. My team has a lot of internationals, we have one girl from Poland, a girl from Africa, Brazil, Norway and three of us are from Serbia. Of course we all have accents so when people ask us where we are from, they are usually confused when we say we are from South Texas. Our height and our accents give us away. We like to joke around when we are at the airports and we like to see if we can get away with not being noticed as an international but just as an American .

It always happens because we look, speak and act different so people always assume that we are not from the United States. Eventually you get used to it and it is very funny with all the curiosity that people have, there are some questions I have been asked that made me laugh out loud. My country is small but we are living normal life just like everybody else is doing. First question I get when I say that I am from Serbia is most of the time the same and it goes “ Is it cold in Siberia?”  Well, it’s Serbia precisely central Europe and we have all four seasons which means that we have summer, autumn, winter and spring. Summers are super nice and warm, while during winter it is cold and it’s snowing, autumns are rainy and everything is orangish, yellowish and brownish and springs are fresh and full of flowers. After question about whether people are divided in two groups. First group is well informed and those people will ask question about Yugoslavia (big country on Balkan that was divided on six small countries after WWII and Serbia is one of them), about Novak Djokovic the best tennis player in the world, food, music, religion, etc. Second group is the one that cracks me up and never stops surprising me. There are different questions that I have been asked, one example is if we have internet, also do we take food from trees, do we have ice-cream, do we celebrate Christmas, if everybody is tall, and do we use cellphone and all different types of questions?

It does make me laugh but at the same time makes me think a lot about how people are uninformed. I don’t want to be rude but it makes me sad how people here think that the United States is all that exists. The world is beautiful and huge and there is so much more out of the United States. I have traveled, seen a lot, and I am so excited to travel more and learn more about this amazing world we are living in and learn all about cultures, religion and people's life in other parts of the world.

Brenda

It is about that time of the year, spring tournaments are about to start and I couldn't be more excited. All this hard work that my team put throughout this semester will finally be shown off. We are going to Kingsville and we will play two games there. It's been awhile since we played last time so I am curious to see how things will work now, since we changed some things compared to last season. This is our first tournament, after this we have two more. I am the most excited for the last one, because we will play at home and it's just always special to play in front of your friends, family and professors. Also they always broadcast our home games for free, so my family gets to see me play as well. My mom can't wait, she gets excited. The home tournament will be special because Brenda and her girls are coming as well. Brenda is a lady that helps with the club I work for. One of her daughters is on the 14s team and the other one is on the 12s team. They are the cutest kids ever and I look at them as my younger sisters. Brenda is a very special person, if the was more people like her in the world it would be a better place! She is always smiling and glows with positive energy. For some reason she found me interesting when she met me and we started talking. I feel so safe around her and she is definitely someone I can rely on whatever and whenever I need something. I am so happy to have her! She is a short, blonde hair, pretty lady with the biggest heart and the nicest soul I've ever seen and I couldn’t be happier to have her as a part of my life. I see her as a friend and as a role model. It was just amazing to me how she accepted me from the beginning. She is so easy to talk to and just seeing her puts me in a good mood. I have only known her for a very short period, but I feel like I know her all my life. I see her as my family and she will always have special spot in my heart. Her kids are just adorable and I am so happy to have a chance to be around them. Being away from my family is very hard but spending a day with Brenda makes me feel like I have family here as well. Last time when I was with her I asked her to walk with me on my senior day. The last home game of the season is also known as senior day and seniors bring their families and they walk through the court together and receive some gifts that school is giving out for senior athletes. There is a very small possibility that my family comes for that day, maybe my mom, but even then I want Brenda by my side as well. I am so happy and thankful to have this amazing woman in my life, I love the way I feel around her it feels like I am home. I hope one day my parents will get to know her, I know my mom will be thrilled and excited.

Musaka and Novi Sad

Well, spring break is over friends, wish it was a little bit longer but you take what you get. My favorite part was the fact that I didn’t have to set up my alarm and that there was nothing to worry about. I even loved Monday it was just amazing. I woke up, made my coffee and breakfast, and started new TV shows. I just love TV shows but I don’t have time for them during the week. I watched a few episodes and headed to the beach with my teammates and few other friends. We came back the same day and spent the rest of the week being lazy by the pool. I wished the weather was nicer, but I still enjoyed it. It was so nice not having anything on my mind and just rest. I’ve been working out a little bit just so I would not feel bad about being lazy. Since I had plenty of time I was cooking plenty of Serbian food. It was about time, I missed it. I was checking recipes with my mom. I made Musaka, which is one of my favorite meals from back home. It is made out of potatoes and ground beef. Once you make a bottom from potatoes you cover it with ground beef and then cover it with potatoes again. Bake it in the oven for 45 min. Once it’s ready you mix two eggs and sour cream and cheese, pour it over and put back in the oven for few more minutes. My moms Musaka is the best and it’s the first meal she makes for me when I go home. Spring semester is going so fast to me and I will be going home soon. I am excited to finally see my family, friends, enjoy my town and eat some good Serbian food.

I really miss my hometown and I figured that I haven’t told you guys anything about it. It is called Novi Sad and it is second biggest town in Serbia also the capital of the province of Vojvodina and the administrative seat of the South Backa District. It is located in the southern part of the Pannonian Plain, on the border of the Backa and Srem regions, on the banks of the Danube river, facing the northern slopes of Fruska Gora mountain.  Atop a riverside bluff stands Petrovaradin Fortress, much of it dating to the 17th and 18th centuries, with an iconic clock tower and a network of tunnels. Across the river is the old quarter, Stari Grad, site of the Gothic Revival Name of Mary Church and Neo-Renaissance City Hall. I just love this town and its gorgeous places. Everytime I go back there I have this flashback when I pass through certain places and streets.  

The fortress is one of my favorite places to go to just sit and think. It is so peaceful looking at Danube river and shiny bridge that connects old and new part of the city. 

One of the most beautiful parts of my town is its downtown. What makes it so pretty is the architecture and I will not even try to explain the beauty with words let me just show you some pictures.  

I am going to see this gorgeous city in fifty-three days and I couldn't be more excited. There is so many places that will bring back memories.

Memory is a way of holding onto the things you love, the things you are, the things you never want to lose.