At the beginning of the second chapter, El Gato explains that he “realized that world I had been living in was low.” When he quits playing soccer, he starts looking up, which is the real beginning of his ability to dream and hope. Describe a time when you remember starting to dream or hope of greatness.
(also)
Why do you think we tend to dream of being “forwards” instead of “goalies” in life? What are some dreams that are less glamorous but still necessary to a great society and a fulfilled life?
10 comments:
My first feeling of hope was when I played on my first real athletic team. I was 2nd Base and was very excited. I would think and wonder about my future and if I would play professional baseball. I would occasionally get sent into the outfield, and at that age, no one hit the ball out there. I think we dream of being “forwards” instead of “goalies” because we like the attention and the spotlight. We think that it would be better if we got more praise, but if we screw up, we hate the spotlight. The dreams that are the less glamorous are the ones that we don’t accept into the community. It is the selfish ones and the famous dreams that we accept. The ones that serve the community are the ones that lead to a fulfilled life and lead to great society.
My first feeling of hope was when I lost my dog a couple years ago. I was nine years old and I had just got a new puppy 2 days earlier, but I accidentally let him out and he ran away. My parents weren’t home and I knew that if I told my older brother he would get mad. So I spent 30 minutes walking around the neighborhood looking. I was about to give up and tell my brother but then, out of nowhere my dog came running towards me. I was so happy to have found him, and this I think this was the first time I had hope. People dream of being “forwards” in stead of “goalies” because forwards always seem to be the main person in the game and they always get the attention because they score the goals. Goalies have a very important job to though, but most of the time people don’t realize it because they don’t move around that much and they hardly ever score goals.
Something interesting has happened in my life. I wonder if the issue about glory and attention given to "forwards" instead of "goalies" is a function of success and achievement, and/or age. Somewhere in my 20's it became more fun just to play a game well than to win, and then later it was more fun just to make sure everyone was having a good time, which meant sometimes lowering my level of play so that we could play and laugh instead of trying very hard to play to win at all. In the same way, I now prefer to let "my kids" ---those at school and in my extended family, get all the attention and glory for their skill.
I'd like to know more specifically what you think are "heroic" roles that make society great that are not attention-getting or spotlight-oriented.
My first real dream or hope came when I was a 6 year old playing baseball. I was always hoping and dreaming that i would be a star in the MLB. Everyone on my team had this dream to. Of course we did, we were 6 years old. We would always talk about who would be like and what teams we would play for if we made it to the proffesional level. (Also) I think we all want to be the forwards instead of the goalies because the forwards are the true stars of a soccer game. The star is the forward who scores the only goal, not the goalie who doesn't even allow one. Also, the forwards are the role models, they are the ones who show up on the stat sheet after the game, and they are the ones on the jerseys of little kids around the world. The kids want to be like them when they keep hearing about him and about how good he is. This is why we grow up wanting to be the forwards in life rather than the goalies.
My first feeling of hope was when I started to play golf. My dad took me to the golf course for the first time and I thought that golf was not a very fun sport at the time. But when I discovered what the game was really about I learned to love it. I used to dream about being the next Tiger Woods. I think that we dream about being forwards because most people love the spotlight. But if you think about it who wins you the game the people that score the goals or the people that stop the goals from being scored. People don't really pay attention to the goalies they pay attention to the people that put the ball past them. If a goalie makes a great save to save the game they get some attention but if you scored the goal to win the game you would be carried of the field by your team mates shouting in celebration. The dreams that are less glamorous are the ones that aren't in the spotlight such as the trainers of the best athletes. They are the ones that make them play to their best potential. But they are the ones that have to do all the dirty work but are over looked by the others because they aren't the ones that take the field.
I will leave a better response once I have thought it through.
As a child all the way through college my mom and dad were great athletes. When I was born my parents thought I had gotten their great genetics. As a youngster my best sports were soccer, and basketball. I remember one time when I was playing in a soccer game I scored four goals and had one assist. The great thing was there was a scout from a select soccer team there and after the game he offered me to play on his team. This could lead to my dream to be a professional athlete. I think we dream of being forwards instead of goalies because we want all the glory of scoring and winning the game. There is a bad side to being a forward because you could be in the state game and you could miss an easy shot and everyone would hate you for a long time. Believe me, I have experienced it. The dreams that are less glamorous are the ones that can really make a difference in the society and we tend to want to be the one who wants all the attention. The ones that really fulfill your life are the ones that help others.
My first feeling of hope was when I started playing the guitar. I could play a few songs and I was very proud of my ability. I knew I had a great potential and some day I would be able to play difficult songs just like my guitar teacher did.
I think some people dream of being "forwards" instead of "goalies" because people don't nessicarily like to protect someting they like to go out and be the star. They like to do something insted of just blocking things that come your way. for example if it was back in cave man times the women would protect the baby and the man would go hunt. The women might be very boared waiting for some wild boar to try to attack them. when she was done fighting the boar she was just back to waching har baby and waiting. The man got to go out and attack, not waiting for something to happen but attacing something and always getting the action and never having to wait.
My first feeling of hope was when I first joined a swim team. I was the fastest swimmer in my age group and I would always bring home several 1st place ribbons after a swim meet. I had always won even though I was afraid of heights and I was afraid to jump off the starting block fearing that I would always end up getting hurt.
I think that people want to be forwards instead of goalies because everyone wants to show off their shooting skills to their family and friends. Also, people don’t want to be the person always in the back. Most people think that it means you’re less important and/or the weakest link.
The first time I experienced hope was when I was 5 and learning how to ride a bike. Most of the kids my age on my street had already learned and I thought they were the coolest people in the world. This motivated me to try and learn. In the summer, I would practice all day and slowly I would get better. I took a long time but I kept hoping and dreaming about all the fun I would have when I could race them down the big hill like they did everyday. Eventually I learned, and even though it took a lot of hard work it was worth it.
I think we dream about being forwards rather than goalies because we like to please the people around us. We like to be known as something greater then the person that no one notices. However, if everyone were forwards, there would be no one to look up to them because we would all be the same.
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