football is football...unless it's futbol

The sun, the green field, the filling crowd.
The start of the clock, the initial momentum, the first drops of sweat.

The footwork, the slide-tackles, the fakes
The headers, the shots, the saves.

The shirt-pulling, the shoving, the collisions
The "injuries", the yellow cards, the hand balls.

The yelling: of players, fans and coaches
The passion: to get the ball, to score a goal, to win.

The energy, the desire, the strength
The high, the escape, the love of the game.

The work, the discipline, the training
The improvement, the teamwork, the perfection.

The break-a-way, the goal, the celebration
The 90th minute, the hand-shake, the win.

This isn't a sport: this is an art.

Congratulations, you're invited to the masquerade

I've concluded that no one is ever really themselves. And that many times people judge you by the way you act when that may not be all that makes up who you are. Yeah, I'm sure you all already knew that, but I was struck with that realizing in my orientation group meeting this past week. I had a preconceived idea of the type of person each of the freshmen in the group was like. not the best thing to do, but we do naturally as humans. But do you know how cool it is when people break your idea of them? Ok well, I guess it's only cool when the break it by doing something good, but anyway. And it makes me wonder what the "real" person is like. But then I think that all of their characteristics, who they are in different situations, make up who they are. And that is cool too. People are so much deeper than what we generally see day to day, and especially deeper than our first impressions of them.
I guess I’m just impressed because I really like getting to know people and enjoy it when I get to see people, peers, being open about what's on their heart and opening up. So, thanks to my O-group from not being afraid to be open. Every aspect of you was made by God for His glory. Be yourself.