How self-worth and independent help forming own goals, opinions, and awareness

I have been playing soccer since I was about three years old, and it has become a crucial part of my life. While growing up, my dad taught me to be tough and to avoid overreaction, so when it came to getting hurt in sports, my sister and I had a hard time convincing my dad that we were injured. Confronting him about the pain was never hard but him believing me was an issue. Last September, during soccer, I irritated my knee, and before my dad considered my injury as severe, I maneuvered through three months of soccer, saw various doctors, got seven x-rays and an MRI. After each doctor examined my MRI scan, they concluded the rational decision was for me to stop playing soccer until a surgeon operated on my knee. Soccer consumed a generous portion of my life and blindsided me from problems and insecurities. However, my priority from September to December was my knee's condition. Although I may bring up this part of my life often, I hadn't realized the importance of the moment at the time. 

Shifting my focus away from soccer permitted me to observe my life from another perspective and grow as a person. My self-worth was entirely reliant on my performance in soccer, so when my surgery required me to rest, my confidence dove to the lowest it has ever been. And since soccer was my typical diversion from adverse emotions, I did not know how to handle what I was going through. I attempted new things in an effort to occupy me, but it's not like I can bake every day of the week for more than 4 hours. Therefore, I put all of my attention to football because it would allow me to become closer with my dad and replace the happiness and adrenaline in which soccer provided me. I went to every home game the Baltimore Ravens hosted that season and watched all the away games. Except, this only helped me escape reality for a day or two, so instead of moving on to the next activity, I decided to determine the cause of my distress. I concluded that I had surrounded myself with untrustworthy people and had been relying on them for my happiness and granting them the power to define my emotions. It had made me very insecure because I was afraid of being judged and thought of differently. After I realized that being dependent on people for how I feel made me emotionally unstable, I decided that I needed to gain back control of my feelings. In doing so, I separated myself from any circumstance that I believed was ruinous and became a self-reliant person.  Becoming independent sustained me into forming my own goals, opinions, and awareness. 

By expanding my cognizance, I was able to narrow my focus on a few purposes of mine. For example, I started learning about early investing and how to manage the stock market, so I have reached out to a few personal finance advisors to assist me in managing my money. Saving money early on is premeditated anticipation for support in the future, whether it is with rent, food, or student loans. Most people have called me mature, but I think that I am just perseverant because once I know a goal of mine, I will find the most efficient and effective way to achieve it.  The sole reason I was able to implement this precaution is because my moment of clarity from my injury enabled me to concentrate on my desires in life. However, since such transparency is the cause of my independence, I stopped dwelling on everyone's opinions of me, and I started to grow a personality without the manipulation of other people's appraisals. It may seem like negligence, but it has availed me by improving my social skill because although I may still internally agonize about people's perspectives on me, I do not let it influence my actions anymore. My knee surgery was an epiphany for me, and the most meaningful lesson I perceived from the opportunity is that taking a step back from life and witnessing it from someone else's aspect can be enlightening