The Backyard

The prompt I responded to is: What objects tell the story of your life?
Realized after I finished that a backyard isn't really an object, but I discussed some others so hopefully it's fine.

Almost three years ago, my family moved from a small three-bedroom house to a significantly larger one. We've been happy the past three years, appreciating how much space we had compared to the older house. However, the old house had one thing that made it superior to the new house- a large backyard. It was in this backyard that I started many hobbies and activities that I continue to enjoy today.

Bike riding is an activity I think I'm quite good at now, but it started with a struggle. My dad doesn't believe in training wheels, and it was because of this that I learned how to ride my bike in my backyard. For about a week straight during the summer after kindergarten, I was basically forced to learn how to ride my bike. I would put my feet on the pedals, and my dad would push me forward while I desperately peddled as fast as I could to avoid falling. I wasn't successful the first few dozen times, but the soft grass in my backyard would soften the impact when I fell off. Slowly, I began to improve- after a couple days, I could ride a full twenty feet before falling down. By the end of that week, I was good enough to ride on my own. I used my new skill as much as I could after that day. At first, I wasn’t given a whole lot of freedom. Thankfully, I was allowed to ride my bike anywhere in town from the first day of second grade. I took full advantage of this, and this freedom became an essential part of both my grade school and middle school life. Being able to go to a friend’s house or the local park at any time without requiring my parents’ help or permission has been very helpful, and I’m thankful for that ability even today.

Soccer is another interest of mine that began in that backyard. When I was a toddler, I was given a miniature soccer ball as a Christmas present; it wasn’t much larger than a baseball. That didn’t matter to me though, as it was perfect for my midget feet. I would spend a lot of my time kicking the ball around inside, but it wasn’t until later that I’d play soccer on real grass. A couple years later, one of my neighbors was kind enough to gift their unused baseball rebounder. I didn’t use it for baseball though. Instead, it would lie in the backyard and function as a small soccer goal. I used it nearly every day, either by myself or with my dad, and sometimes my little brother when he was willing to play goalie for me. It was this daily practice in my backyard that drove me to love the sport. When I was old enough, my father signed me up for the town’s recreational league. It was playing in these recreational games that I made some of my favorite memories- the skill level wasn’t exactly the highest, as the league was comprised largely of kids who were in it only because of their parents. Because of this, games were often ridiculously high-scoring. Playing in these types of matches was a blast. This recreational league was also a starting point for many opportunities in the sport. I later joined various travel teams formed from the best players in our league to play against more serious club teams. While we didn’t do so well, seeing how good some of the players were gave me a whole lot more perspective and motivated me to play even more. Soccer is still a large part of my life in high school, as I’ve played for three years on the school team in the fall, as well as various teams in the winter indoor leagues.

While I thought of my backyard only as a place to have fun, it served a more important purpose- a place to discover and develop interests that I’d love for years to come.