North Oconee senior remains thankful in unique living situation, finds solace in soccer
There are 931 miles between North Oconee senior defender Morgan Morreale and her father. That's a little under a 14-hour drive.
At 18-years-old, Morreale finds herself in a uniquely difficult living situation.
The Texas-native, born in Austin and raised in the Lone Star State, moved to Georgia five years ago. Shortly after they'd settled in, however, her dad was to return to their small town of Salado, Texas, for work, splitting the family and leaving Morreale, her mother and her youngest sister in Bogart.
"We moved a lot (growing up) for my dad's job, but it was always in Texas until we came here," Morreale said. "My dad's a regional manager for Sam's Club. He moved back because his boss that used to work here moved to Texas and wanted him to come with. He didn't go right away, but he realized it was a better opportunity, so he eventually went.
"It was hard at the beginning when my dad left because my parents weren't ever divorced. They're still together. We just have to do this because he has to work. It definitely got easier over time, just because I began to understand that he had to do what he had to do. My mom doesn't work, and my dad provides most of the financial aspects for the family."
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Her eldest sister still lives in Texas, too − she's roughly five years older than Morreale. Her whole family is there, really, she explained, and that's where her mother and youngest sister will return after she heads off to Truett McConnell University in Cleveland in the fall.
Morreale said they technically could've followed him back to Texas. Last minute, after he'd settled, they had offered to let her do senior year there.
But after living in Georgia for four years, having built herself a team and a life, she couldn't imagine giving that up. It's hard being the new kid on the block, and she didn't necessarily want to go through that again for just a single year.
"It was a big decision for me, but I wanted to pursue soccer and it was much easier to do that here in Georgia," she said. "The move from Texas to Georgia was definitely hard because I've been a Texan my whole life, but once it got easier, I realized I really loved it here and ... I wanted to stay here to finish. I realized high school soccer at North Oconee was amazing, and also my club team at [Oconee Football Club]. It's all great people, all great environments. I didn't want to leave, and my family understood that, so they did what they had to do.
"I'm thankful that I have the family I do because that's the whole reason I've stayed here. They let me make that decision (for myself) ... and that was one of the promises I wanted my parents to make − that I could graduate in the same place I spent all four years. Moving high schools, (this age is) probably the hardest time to move."
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She gets to see her dad every couple of months. In fact, when the team went to play in the Tournament of Champions at Jekyll Island, he was able to fly out and spend their day of freedom, as she called it, with her. She knows he hates missing her sporting events, but they make it work when they can, and that's what matters most at this point in time.
"She's just had to find her way," coach Ben Grassmyer said. "She's had to be, you know, stronger than a normal high school kid. And you can tell, she's very tough on herself. She puts a lot of pressure on herself, but I think she's just been the best example of how to act and how to behave as a teammate and a leader. She enjoys being here every day and she hides anything she's feeling. She's kind of a brick wall on the field and off the field. She definitely tries her best to be emotionally strong, but there are moments when she lets it out. She's a joy to be around."
Sara Tidwell covers Athens-area high school sports and University of Georgia athletics for The Athens Banner-Herald. Contact her at stidwell@gannett.com and follow her @saramtidwell on Twitter.
This article originally appeared on Athens Banner-Herald: Morgan Morreale on tough decisions, pursuing dreams and missing dad
