Mary Fowler’s journal tells us much of the woman she has become and why Paris must be her coming of age moment

Forever scribbling away in her journal, Mary Fowler details her inner most thoughts. Will the Paris Olympics be a defining chapter?

Mary Fowler needs to go big or the Matildas are going home. She’s no longer a kid. She’s 21. The age when great athletes are hitting their straps. Is the much-hyped Fowler truly great? The Paris Olympics will be revealing.

She’s a prolific writer. Forever scribbling away in her journal. Dear diary, who am I? Dear diary, who do I want to be?

Journaling is good for the soul. Let’s give it a go. Dear diary, who is Mary Fowler? A mercurial talent with the Olympics at her feet. Dear diary, who do the Matildas need her to be? Player of the tournament.

“A lot has happened in the last four years,” she says. “I was actually writing in my journal the other day about what I’ve done so far in my career. The things I’m most proud of are how I’ve changed as a person.”

Mary Fowler during training ahead of the Paris Olympics. Picture: Instagram.

Is Fowler great or just very good? No shame in the latter, dear diary and young lady, but it’s time to rip in and start finding out.

The Matildas begin their Olympic campaign against Germany at Marseilles on Thursday and dear diary, the dear thing needs to move on from being a gifted youngster who may do something in the future.

This is the future.

“When I started playing football I said to myself, ‘I’m not going to finish until I make it to an Olympics,” Fowler says.

”That was my one sporting dream, to be an Olympian. I’ve become my own biggest supporter and the way I’ve done that is by making sure that I celebrate my small wins. It’s not even football-related, it’s off the field, like wearing my hair out for the first time.”

She says: “I was so self-conscious about doing that and when I did it … it was a small win because I didn’t want to do that for so long. I definitely struggled a bit with the image of who Mary Fowler is and who I think I am. Wondering what people expect me to be and if I have to be that person. But I don’t really tune into that anymore. Now it’s more about, what do I want?”

Mary Fowler has come of age. Picture: Charles Dennigton for Vogue Australia

Three years have passed since Fowler publicly declared her desire to be the best footballer in the world. If the sought-after greatness is going to happen, it needs to start happening now. She’s no longer the work experience kid. These are the Games when Fowler needs to let her hair out.

“I write a lot and that helps me understand my feelings and what I want,” she says. “I write about the kind of woman I would like Mary to be and then in situations will ask myself, what would ‘that’ Mary do in this situation? It’s a constant journey of growth.”

Dear diary, the Matildas are under the pump before the Olympics begin. They’re in a tough group alongside Germany, USA and Zambia. making every fixture crucial.

It’s nearly a must-win against Germany 24 hours before the Olympic cauldron is lit at the Trocadero and IOC boss Thomas Bach tells everyone to let the Games begin.

The Matildas will be one match deep by then. What would Mary’s ideal Mary do? Start coming of age.

Originally published as Mary Fowler’s journal tells us much of the woman she has become and why Paris must be her coming of age moment