Jessica McDonald

If anything as simple as child care was covered by the league or your organization, that would be life-changing for moms, especially when we're scraping pennies. Maybe we would have more moms in this league if something like that was there for us, but I feel like we're far from that.

I need to just give - everything that I do, every single day - my all. I just need to. Life is short. We have one life to live. And I need to be able to push for my kid.

Both of my parents were both multi-sport athletes. Their mindset was, be an athlete as long as possible, up until they became parents. And so they dropped their dreams for their children.

My parents gave up on their dreams in sports because they were athletes, and they had me at such an early age. I didn't want to do that.

I'm not just working for myself anymore. I'm working for my kid as well, someone who's actually looking up to me on a whole other level than the younger generation.

I was one of those players that had to come in and prove that I can belong on this field with these girls, and I can hang in this league as well.

I haven't had any injuries since I've had my kid, so I think it's changed my body externally and internally. I don't know what it is, but I hadn't felt so great, body-wise, until I had my kid. I look more in shape, and I feel more in shape. And speaking from a confidence side, it's changed me in such a positive way.

There hasn't been any positive steps for moms in the NWSL. Now we're kind of getting our heads together, getting ideas together, and so now we can start somewhere as moms... Child care is not cheap. And if you look at our paychecks and you look at child care, there goes our paycheck. How are we going to eat?

Obviously this is something huge, just to be playing on the world stage and repping all the parents out there - not just the parents, but obviously all of the African American girls who feel as if they don't have much to rely to make your dreams come true, whatever the circumstances may be.

In high school and college, I always, always straightened my hair. Don't ask why; I was just so into my image. Post-college, I started wearing my hair natural.

My grandmother - my inspiration - was a single mom with nine kids, and she helped raise me.

My journey has been up and down a little bit. Everything that has to do with success for me has sort of become a shock to me. You work so hard, you work so hard, and it happens; you're like, 'What? Wait, it's happening to me?'