Winter Crew Sonnet, Graduation Haiku, July 20, 1969

My best friends from that trip ended up not being those with whom I was on the exchange. My best friends became the guys with whom I had the opportunity to play soccer. However, Germany has never been the place where I’ve always wanted to live. I had often dreamed of moving to England where my favorite professional soccer team plays. And even after this incredible trip, I still wanted to move to England, for the international community there is also second-to-none. Soccer is such a beloved sport all throughout Europe, and so that love for the game persists everywhere. After college, I want to move to England. I want to visit my old friends in Germany and play another game of soccer with them. This is a goal of mine in life.

Last week, I performed absolutely horridly on an AP Calculus test. I’m sure of it, but nevertheless, I’ve had to reassure myself that math isn’t the end of my life. In ten years from now, I want to be living firsthand in the European soccer community just like I did last summer. The idea that I can always return to that environment gives me hope. Whenever I say the words England or Germany in the context of soccer, goosebumps run up and down my spine. I know that I’m meant to be there.

No matter what happens, no matter if the end of the world seems near (almost like it does with this coronavirus), I know that I will always have my America as my refuge. I will always be able to return to those grassy streets of gold. I will forever maintain the hope that I can always return home.

Photography by: Anya Kazemi