# @hannahbaps on Instagram

- **Type:** Image
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/Dd1uZzhiLia
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/71164672-hannahbaps-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/postThumbnails/d617fca96d.jpg
- **Posted:** 2026-09-28T17:30:01.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** Hannah Baptiste (@hannahbaps) — https://gondola.cc/hannahbaps

## Caption

I think one of the hardest things nobody prepares you for is grieving a life that never actually happened.

Not because you didn’t work hard enough.
Not because you gave up.
Sometimes you can give something everything you have… and it still doesn’t end the way you pictured it.

Football was that dream for me.

As a little girl, I didn’t imagine fitting football around a full-time job. I imagined football being my job.

And I really tried.

I moved countries. Played college football in America. Changed clubs. Sat on benches. Got rejected. Started again. Kept believing.

For a long time, accepting that the dream had changed felt like admitting I’d failed.

But I’m learning those are two very different things.

And maybe yours wasn’t football.

Maybe it was the career you thought you’d have by now. The relationship you thought would last. The family you imagined. An opportunity you were sure was coming. Or simply the person you thought you’d be by this age.

There’s grief in that. And I think we should be allowed to admit it hurts without immediately trying to find a positive.

But a dream changing doesn’t erase everything that happened while you were chasing it.

Football took me around the world. Gave me friendships that became family. Experiences I never imagined. And eventually, the chance to represent my country.

So maybe some dreams don’t disappear.

Maybe they just change shape.

And maybe a life looking different from the one you planned doesn’t mean you got it wrong. ❤️

What dream has changed shape for you?

#DreamsChange #LifeDoesntGoToPlan #LettingGo #WomenInFootball #Football

## Stats

- **Views:** 0
- **Likes:** 0
- **Shares:** 0
- **Comments:** 1

## Tags

dreamschange, lifedoesntgotoplan, lettinggo, womeninfootball, football

---
Copyright (c) Gondola