Eyeing the Olympic Games with every move an audition for suitors around the globe, Michelle Heyman feels like she is living "in a different world".
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She hears more kids screaming her name from the McKellar Park stands. She has a fresh Matildas kit with her name on it and her hopes of earning a plane ticket to Paris have a heartbeat.
Now she has a chance to send a message to clubs around the world in the hunt for a star striker with a cloud of uncertainty hovering over the future of Canberra United's A-League Women side.
Heyman was a shock inclusion following Sam Kerr's anterior cruciate ligament tear and soon scored four goals to book Australia's place at the Olympics in a 10-0 win over Uzbekistan.
Her recall ended a five-year exile from the national team, and she is desperate to shine again in looming matches against Mexico in San Antonio next week, having watched the Matildas' mesmerising World Cup run from afar.
"I wanted to be a part of that team so badly," Heyman said.
"That was my role in that World Cup, to make sure I was the loudest in the stands. I know what it's like to be in a World Cup and to do that on home soil was just unbelievable. From the stands, it's a very different view. That also allowed me to be here today. I knew what I missed out on, I was like 'I want that so I'm going for it'.
"My life has changed a lot [since returning to the squad], especially after those last games. For myself, personally, I always knew I could do this job and be back in this squad, so I just wanted to come out here and prove a point to other people and to myself, to show myself I was still good enough to be here.
"My life now, ever since Melbourne, has been a different world. The amount of support I get from fans, the amount of people coming out to every game to cheer on Canberra United, it's just been wild to hear so many little kids scream out 'Heyman'."
Canberra United has already lost one of its biggest stars with Vesna Milivojevic bound for Sweden - and Heyman has warned more could follow as players wait for answers about the club's future.
Capital Football is caught in the middle, conceding rising costs are making it harder for the association to run the ALW team - but without a financial backer locked in to take over Canberra's A-League licence, players could exit in droves.
Retaining Heyman would be a top priority for any owner - and rival clubs are already circling after the ALW's all-time leading scorer rocketed back into the international scene, because the 35-year-old is not done yet.
"My goal is the Olympics," Heyman said.
"Of course I'm going to be pushing for that squad. I'm going to do everything I can to get into that team, but right now, my main focus is for this camp and it's to make sure I'm physically fit and ready to go against Mexico. Whatever they need me to do, that's what I'll do.
"I'm just so much smarter these days. Experience and age is a gift. I look at my 25-year-old self and I wish I knew everything that I do now. I think it's better than ever being called up [now], because I understand the game more, I've been around for a lot longer, and I've been able to watch these girls play for so many years.
"I knew the style of football and I knew exactly what needed to be done for my role. Age is fantastic. I love getting older. I'm keeping up with the young ones, so it's making me feel really good about myself."
If Heyman were to sum up the contrast between the Matildas of yesteryear and the modern iteration, she would struggle to find a better word than stark.
"Everything about it has changed. I've never been in such a professional environment. From where we were back when I debuted in 2010 to where we are today, I don't think many things are similar, minus the players," Heyman said.
"It's a whole lot of the same girls, which is just incredible, but everything on the outside from then to now has changed in the best way possible."