Amidst an endless sea of midterms, papers and group projects, I took some time this week to rediscover my youth with a couple of friends!
I played soccer for eight years when I was a kid. League, school and pick-up … I played it all and loved every second of it. But my passion for playing slowly died out at the beginning of my freshman year of high school as I channeled my energy towards other sports. So, I stopped.
Luckily, a few great friends, a worn-in ball and an hour of running back and forth across Norman Field was all it took for me to remember my passion for the good old game of soccer. (And essentially my childhood, too!)
My friends and I came up with the idea for a mid-week pick-up game of soccer so that we could get away from the tortures of nonstop schoolwork for a little bit. We picked a time, a date and a location. The group met on Wednesday at the field at 8 p.m. sharp for the game to begin!
Divided into two teams, we played six on six. As a former beast of a defender, I guarded our makeshift goal of gray hoodies as if my life depended on it. I must admit, I forgot about how stressful playing defense could be! I nearly had a heart attack every time a member from the rival team came anywhere near me with the ball, but I did my best to stop my opponents in their tracks and get the ball as far away from our goal as possible.
And I’d say I did a pretty good job! The other team scored three times on us, despite my efforts to thwart their success. However, their defender was not as lucky as I was, for we scored five times! I’m happy to report that my team came away from the game victorious.
All in all, it was so much fun playing soccer again with all of my friends! But the best part was the workout that I got, because running all around that field was no joke. My legs were so sore the next morning.
So this week, I encourage you all to take some time away from your PowerPoint presentations, textbooks and meetings and revive your youth! Round up a group of friends and play a game that you haven’t played in years, whether that’s basketball, soccer, baseball or tennis. Whatever you do, just make sure that you get out there, have some fun and break a sweat!