Personal Narrative: How Soccer Changed My Life

Everyone has that certain thing that makes them who they are. That certain thing for me is soccer. It’s my hobby, my biggest interest, and my passion. Soccer isn’t just a sport for me, it’s my life. It has been part of my life for as long as I can remember. I have played the intriguing game of soccer since I was four years old, and I have loved it ever since.

How Soccer Explains the World spans many topics and times in history, all the while using sports to explain different cultural events. Foer takes on the task of using soccer to weave a relatable picture for his audience to understand. While the topics covered are interesting and rich with history, Foer fails to clearly use soccer as an example of Economics, and had the book not tried to tie soccer in to everything as much, it would have been a more powerful piece of literature.

Haiti is a country with a unique past, from it’s overwhelming richness in sugar cane to the slave revolution, Haiti has had a history that most countries could have never imagined. Author Dr. Paul Farmer, of Harvard University, wrote The Uses of Haiti in 1994 with two different updated editions the latest being published in 2005. Dr. Farmer’s book details the history of Haiti and how the world has affected the country. The Uses of Haiti has a few weaknesses when it comes to the writing style of Dr. Farmer, but there are many strengths within this book as well. The weaknesses range from too many voices within the text to ideas being repeated multiple times throughout a single section. The strengths of Dr. Farmer’s book range from the magnificent

The exceptions to the ignoring of Haiti come not from Europe or the United States but from the Caribbean and

Soccer is something every kid plays, it’s the staple game of the world; but to me, soccer was more than just a childhood activity. Playing soccer has taught me many valuable lessons but the most important lesson was that it wasn’t about the trophy, it was about the practices, it was about the teammates. When the end of the season came around, it didn’t matter if we had won or not; we had grown as soccer players and as a team,

Haiti was unstable in politics and economic state of affairs that made them defenseless. At this time, the Haitians were standing up for their culture and for their land they believed to have called their home. According to Delgado, and the context groundings, the definition of Cultural Assets is “fundamental belief that all human groups possess some form of assets or strengths as well as needs” Delgado (2007). Their main objective was to restore their national sovereignty. The economy plummeted and the nation began to suffer. This was how the history of Haiti was generated.

The name Haiti came from the origin of a “Mountainous Country”. Before European colonization, Taino Indians inhabited the island, and the name Hati is delivered from there language. This country is populated by 95% of people from the African descent. The other 5% was mulatto and white. Hati is the third largest country, behind Cuba and the Dominican Republic. The land is a rugged, mountains

Soccer (Football) is the most popular and fastest growing sport in the world. Over 240 million people play it regularly around the world. However, most people only get to view one side of soccer in their lifetime. They never get a glimpse of it in any other setting. For many people soccer is a very competitive organized sport. For others it is an everyday, fun activity. In some countries, soccer is their life, while in others it is just a sport. For those of you that don’t know, soccer is a sport where the objective is to score goals by kicking a ball into the other teams goal. It is a mix of offense and defense, with very fast paced action. You are allowed to use any body part except your hands and elbows. Soccers first appearance traces back to 3000 years ago in ancient China. But, the first modern version of soccer originates from Victorian England. Since then, soccer has spread around the world to the point where almost every country plays some form of it. I am going to address how it is different around the world and the reasons for this.

Soccer is my thing. Soccer is something I live, I breathe, I analyze, I bleed, I practice, and I play. The sport has been a vital part of my life ever since I started to play the game as a kindergartener. Working as a club soccer referee is also my job, and incorporating the sport I practically worship into my work is something that I will never regret because the experiences I have gained as a result have taught me various lessons over the years.

"I've learned all about life with a ball at my feet."-Ronaldinho. Soccer has connections or life lessons that we can relate to our daily lives. Whether it be in afoul or a goal, it can relate to our life. Reason why I'm writing this is because no matter what life is like a game, and it is best to play by the rules rather than cheat. when people play by the rules they are respecting and usually have good karma, however, break the rules and they will have bad karma. We can also see that the people who play the sport are generally martyrs.

The country of Haiti has experienced devastating natural disasters over the last 8 years, compounding its poverty and destitution. One of the most devastating, being the 7.0 magnitude earthquake that claimed the lives of thousands and misplaced over 1 million people. I know that prior to the natural disasters that I speak of, Haiti was considered to be one of the poorest countries in the Americas. It is a country that is still in need of efforts to assist in re-establishment as well as provisions of primary care.

The scene is set. It’s the last quarter and the star player is lined up for the kick. This is it; the deciding factor win or lose, triumph or defeat. Tension thrums through the crowd, hearts pound in throats, hands are clenched in anticipation, fear, hope. Then the kick is made, eyes strain and throats gasp as the ball sails through the air straight between the goal posts. All around the stadium and at home in front of the T.V. people erupt into screams and cheers of exultation. Strangers clap each other’s back and congratulate each other while behind them others howl in misery. They try to console each other and sigh, knowing that despite the hardships they suffered with grit and determination they had failed this time. Still there is always next season….

One day May 17, 1977 one wonderful women gave birth to a baby girl at noon. I was literally born with the worlds biggest passion for soccer. I was living with a soccer life. It even in my blood. For example both my dad and uncle were soccer players while my dad is scoring goals my uncle had the most important job, watching all the games. I wouldn't even be alive if soccer wasn't in my life or even Cristiano Ronaldo.

Too often we get bogged down in our past, and in memories of events that we think define us and restrict us from moving forward. The truth is that we can decide today who we want to be. We may have some baggage, and we may have future dreams, but today is the only day where we can define who we are and what direction we want our lives to go.

I think that soccer shares a link with the ecological thought by Timothy Morton. In the book, Timothy states that human and the environment are interconnected.