One of the biggest regrets of my life so far has been that I did not play enough sports. Maybe it had to do with the fact that my parents and peers were very busy comparing scores in academics that sports were considered only to be done when there was spare time. Honestly things weren’t that bad… it wasn’t like I was forced to study or something but there was that small void inside me that had a big tag of sports.

If I look back at the moments that I was the most happiest, it had to be on the soccer field. Ironically I played it only for about 15 months and even the days that ended in pain and loads of suffering seem really fun. The moments when you ran out of breath when you decided to give a little more for that one attacking sprint… or that moment when you stood your ground as the last line of defense and took on the opponents and pulled off that amazingly impossible save. Moments you spend after the game making fun of your friends over ambitious “moves” on the field or cheering again for a brilliantly synchronized set of passes that happened that evening.

So why all this talk about soccer and sports?
Earlier in the day I was watching a few kids getting trained in soccer. The coach’s voice and knowledge just got to me and I realized that I never experienced that… My coaches during my initial days of soccer were my friends and they taught me diligence… they taught me perseverance… they taught me to not quit and that the most important thing about learning is that if its not fun its not worth it.

This post is a small toast to my friends, to let them know that whenever I see a football or someone playing soccer, I will think of all those moments we shared. I will think of the lows and the highs, the physical pain and the euphoric joy… And truly know that I owe it all to you brilliantly amazing people.