During my elementary school years, I liked playing soccer a lot, as most boys do at that age. Our apartment complex was quite well decorated and had everything it needed: a playground, a sports center, a multi-purpose building with a bakery, supermarket, etc. One important thing it lacked, however, was a place to play soccer. That's why me and a group of friends chose a medium-sized area at the back of my apartment building, probably the size of a typical school playground, as a place to play it. About thirty footsteps away from the entrance of my apartment building is this place, and once entered, I can immediately smell chlorine coming from the sports center's swimming pool. As I enter, there is a wooden stage right next to me, but it is more like a simple elevated place about the height of one stairs where only three people could fit in. Further away is an area for six benches with a roof. Yet, I am not sure whether it is a roof because it was simply several wooden planks hanging over it perhaps for decoration, but definitely not for practical purposes as it could not shield any rain or sun. Beside the bench area, there is the entrance for the sports center. Only the entrance is visible because all activities were done downstairs in the basement. Next to that is something I found quite beautiful: the water fountain. Water pours down from a stone, spinning a waterwheel. Above the stone, there is a trail for walking where grass and flowers are planted and all could be visible at one glance with the water fountain, like a picture inside a frame. Obviously, this was not an ideal place to play soccer. There often were people passing by, usually to go to the sports center, the floor was pavements, and the soccer ball would sometimes fly to the water fountain. However, with pillars that supported the bench roofs, there was a place for a goal scoring. That was enough, and my frequent visits and enjoyable memories there with my friends make it a special place.
1. I like that the writer described the place detailed as if the sight is being moved. I can imagine the place as if the camera is moving in the movie.
ReplyDelete2. I cannot imagine well the water fountain. I feel as if it just came out all of sudden.
3. I like when the smell of chlorine is mentioned because it is easily imaginable. Also, I like the expression using distances--for example thirty footsteps.
4. I feel nostalgic. So it gives me peaceful and calm feeling, but at the same time I can imagine cheerful sceneries as it was the place for playing soccer.
5. I guess the writer chose this place because it was a precious memory for him when he thought his childhood days. I guess this place is what makes the writer feel happy thinking of it.
6. The place is described in detail, but I feel it is just a description rather than a story. If you develop a narrative, it would be much greater.
Yousun Jung