There are many places throughout the world that have more meaning than any other ordinary place to certain people. These could be bed rooms, graveyards, parks or even places at a school. But what makes these places so special? Maybe they invoke special feelings or emotion that any other place just doesn’t produce. Maybe they bring back core memories from childhood. Maybe they are where they feel most comfortable. These places are different for everyone, but for me, that would be a soccer field. 

       There are six lights illuminating the field so that everyone has a clear view of what they need to do. Each light contains 12 singular LED bulbs, so white and so bright that there is no need for the sun. Attracting thousands and thousands of tiny insects that are revealed to the earth as soon as they pass through the huge beams that are produced. Each and every blade of grass, moving and flowing as the wind. Almost as if small feathers of the earth that are almost weightless and can move around freely like water. Long and defined lines stretch for what seem to be miles across the grassy surface, creating borders for everyone to stay in. Two big metal boxes with hundreds and hundreds of strings that create little tiny squares, prevent the ball from passing through, no matter the speed at which it is kicked. There are six shadows that dance around each and every player as they move. Mimicking and reflecting each player's movement. But at the same time, doing the exact opposite per every movement. The feeling of crisp air that nips at the tip of your nose and makes your fingers white. That you can feel go in and out of your lungs like cold water seeping down your throat into an empty stomach. Hundreds of different voices, all with their own unique pitch that suits every single person.The sound of a sharp whistle from the ref and the thundering of different cleats across the field that sounds like a herd of elephants moving through a safari. The sound of 22 players panting air in and out and in and out of their lungs as they try to regain their breath. The smell of wet grass that has been freshly watered and kept so the soccer ball can glide and roll smoothly across its surface, like a hockey puck gliding through the ice. The hot sweat and body odor coming off all of the bags from past games that date back for years. The mud, caked on my body from slipping and sliding, giving my everything for that ball. The sweet sweet taste of water. Almost like an elixir of the gods that washes away every single pain and ache as it flows down and throughout your body. No feeling compares to this one where you finally receive the one thing that all life requires and your body craves so dearly, coming with the small tings of the freezing ice against the hard metal walls of the water bottle, like little bells of a church so far away. The tightly fit, custom made jerseys  that each player a part of the team wears that are so smooth and silky, that you soon forget you’re wearing them. They don’t just distinguish one team from the next, they represent all of our core values and beliefs. It represents all of the years of hard work and training needed to play this game effectively. This is the soccer field where 22 players compete against each other so that they can win this intense game. 

       As soon as I step foot onto the field I can feel the rush of adrenaline coursing through my veins. The surge starts in my chest, then spreads out trickling into the tips of my fingers. Any pain, headache or weird feeling that I was experiencing before had dissolved away from my body. Any lingering thoughts that were bothering in the back of my mind were gone. I could only think of one thing, getting that ball. The flurry of excitement that goes through my mind is unmatched by any other emotion. Every single player feels the same emotion that I do. Some slight fear before the game that will go away as soon as the whistle blows and the yelling starts. But then it goes blank, as empty as a dark, black abyss. Muscle memory and years of training take over, moving my feet and legs for me so that I don’t overthink and mess up with the ball. A ball that can take on many colors, patterns, and designs but does the same job regardless of what it looks like. Filled with air, making it so hard that it can be blasted up to 70 miles an hour. Hit with a definitive pop that cannot be mistaken for anything else except for a soccer ball.

All of these things make up a soccer field. The lights, sounds, smells, textures, and most of all emotion is what sets this place apart from any other.