Home: the place where one lives permanently, especially as a member of a family or household. This puts my home at Latitude: 42.58348, Longitude: -71.054034, the place where I live permanently as a member of a family. But this is not my home. A home is more than a definition, it is where someone gains new experiences and grows as a person. A place that people feel safe in and are attached to. For me, my home is not a singular place, it is a type of place, a hockey rink. It does not matter the town, state, or country. A hockey rink is my home and no definition will tell me otherwise.
It is cold and dark. The sun has not yet shown its beautiful face, but that only encourages me more. My parents dress me in stiff, soaked armor and entrust me with deadly blades. I take my first wobbly steps, then some more, and then more again. Finally, I take my last step and suddenly start to glide everywhere with no control. Somehow I manage to keep upright, and fall in love with having no control. It is my first time ice skating, I am only two.
It is cool and light. I dress myself in loose, damp armor. I put one colosul pad on each leg one at a time; they are too enormous to be maneuvered into place in harmony. After I complete the impossible, I stumble my way down a hallway; the pads complex me and are hard to control. I take one final step, and I begin to glide. I am in control. I make my way over to a sea of blue and stand stiff. I look up. Left, right, and center, rubber is flying everywhere. It is like a war zone, but I am the only enemy. One puck slams into my body. Then, a second, third, and fourth. My stance loosens, till finally, more pucks hit me than do not. One pounds me in the stomach, it hurts a little, but I stand ready for more. It is my first time playing goalie, I am only six.
It is warm and bright. I dress myself in flexible, dry armor. I put on a meagre two pads, and a helmet. I feel more protected than ever. I walk confidently down the hall. I take my last step before I begin to glide. All eyes are suddenly trained on me like I am the target for a sniper. I remain confident, I have to. I soon lift my whistle to my mouth and blow. Time stops, everyone is still. On my command, time and people once again move; I possess the power of a king. But with all power, there comes hatred. The snipers take their shots, but they are useless as I wear a bulletproof vest. The bullets begin to fly more and more, like the rubber I was used to when I was six, but the vest only grows stronger. I fight through the snipers and do what I must do, enforce the rules that I was given. A horn vibrates the entire arena, almost taking it down. I give up my reign as king until I am called upon again. It is my first time officiating a hockey game, I am only fourteen.
Hockey Rink: an enclosed area of ice for skating, especially one artificially prepared. A place where one does not permanently live as a member of a family. But a hockey rink is more than a definition, a hockey rink is my home. In the rink I have had new experiences which have helped me grow as a person and as a hockey player. When I enter a hockey rink, I feel safe from the outside world and feel like I can accomplish anything. A hockey rink is my home. My life revolves around it like the Earth revolves around the sun.
