Coming to the U.S. has been one of the best decisions I have ever made; being able to play football every day, earning a degree, having no student debt, having a beautiful girlfriend, and now, a full-time job. However, there are struggles that the average international students Instagram isn’t telling you. In this short Sunday series, I will be sharing my story and experiences, along with the struggles I have faced as a legal alien. For your average international student, this is just part and parcel of the deal, but for those not involved, it’s hard to explain and understand what all is involved so I will do my best.
The Dream
Let’s take it back to the beginning, I’m 17 years old and my mate Joe gives me a call one night reminding me of some guy we had spoken to a few weeks prior. He tells me that he just signed up to this company that sends kids to play football in the U.S. and that I should do it. Before you know it, we’re at showcases being sold the American Dream, ‘You’re going to live on the beach, play at the best facilities, get a degree’…all that good stuff. So after a quick highlight video and a showcase, I was speaking to numerous coaches from all over the place, until I found Tennessee Wesleyan College in Athens, Tennessee. Slightly reluctantly, may I say, I decided to go there. A small school with a population of around 2,000 in nowhere Tennessee lay TWC, a few big factors lead me to that decision. They already had 12 English boys on the team and they seemed to like it, the scholarship was good, I liked the coach, and my Dad simply said, “If you don’t like it after one year, just transfer.”
The Reality
I arrived in Tennessee in the blazing heat early august for my freshman year, and to be frank, outside of football, there was fuck all to do. But, the football was good, and so were the lads and that season, I had a blast getting to know the guys, some of whom are still my good friends today. It was also helped by the fact that I had a pretty good season on the pitch, and at that point, when football was good, I was good. However, moving into the spring semester and competitive football behind me for the year, the realization of the location set in and being somewhat of a city boy I knew Athens wasn’t the place for me and that I wasn’t going to be staying there…
- Ryan Ejezie