When I think of sports, I usually think of basketball or soccer or something along the lines of the Olympics. I don't know why, but I guess that's what the American dream of a perfect athlete was to me. I've always wanted to be an athlete when I was little but the problem was, it seemed that every sport worth trying was already consumed by too many of the greats. When I see how good someone is, I get intimidated and usually end up giving up.
Handball was what saved me and although it's not considered as one of the more popular sports to most people, it's considered special to me. Handball is usually a game of 21 played with two players and the only equipment you have is a small bouncy blue ball. The objective of the game is to score as many points by hitting the blue ball back to the wall in hopes that the opponent will miss it when hitting back. My first encounter with handball was during 6th grade and when I first saw the game, I thought it was the dumbest game that I ever saw. The only push that urged me to try it was the fact that all my friends began playing the sport. At first, I thought that this was the easiest game out there and with a little overconfidence, I soon learned that there was more to handball than I thought. Handball is a game involving hand-eye coordination, agility, as well as a smart technique for each game played. Players have to think fast to be able to win each game while at the same time running to hit the ball back. Now that's a hefty load of work to me.
These days I don't play handball much because of all the schoolwork from high school but I still try to make time for it. Handball may be just a silly game to others but to me, it's a way of letting your inner emotions out. Sometimes, we forget what defines who we are and it takes a while to find it once again. But when we do, no matter how stupid it may be, we have to hold on to it because it's all that we may have ever known. As much as I hate to admit it, Handball has made a huge impact in my life because it not only provided a platform for me to meet new peers and friends, but an outlet to express myself. So to all you folks out there looking for a sport to try, handball may just be it for you, I know it was for me.