Would you believe me if I told you that I was born in 1991, yet I’m still 24 years old? No, right? Well, you’re gonna have to, because I am 24 and I was actually born in 1991...in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. You see, Ethiopia uses the Orthodox Church's calendar, which is 8 years and 8 days behind. Told you I was born in '91.

Born in Ethiopia to two loving parents and a younger brother, I was privileged and blessed to grow up in a family that valued hard work, passion, family, and most importantly, religion. My Ethiopian background has always been and will always be a significant part of who I am today. In so many ways, it has shaped my identity, especially when it comes to sports.

Around the age of 4, I discovered a passion that would define my career 14 years later: football. Well, not American Football—here we call it soccer, right? At 4 years old, I fell in love with the game's passion, inspired by an older cousin I admired. I wanted to be like him—the way he screamed with joy after every goal, the way his mood shifted with wins, but definitely not the way he reacted to losses. Nope. From an early age, I learned about passion in sports, and I ran with it.

Fast forward 20 years, 7,100 miles, 4 presidents, 3 prime ministers, and a second language later, I have built a career in sports fueled by my passion for storytelling and football. Today, I use the same passion I learned from my cousin at the age of 4 to fuel the fandom of other sports fans like me, one edit at a time.