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A game that feels like home to me, or at least reminds me of my home is chess. It actually reminds me more of the first apartment and neighborhood I lived in than now. I was never even good at it, and I don’t play it much now (mostly because of how busy my family is now). My brother and I used to spend almost every day of the summer with our dad because my mom was at work and busy. We would kind of fool around all day, do nothing, but when it came time for lunch at 4:00, that’s kinda when the day began. After the meal, my dad took us on a walk with the chessboard around the neighborhood, and then to the park. He promised us gelato at the store down the hill if we put effort into our game of chess on most of those days (and he kept his word). It was always my brother and I against our dad, and we only beat him a handful of times. He’d teach us patience and strategy, putting thought into your every move, and attempt to show us how to organize some kind of plan for how to play, but my brother and I were usually more impulsive. Sometimes we’d say funny things when moving a piece and we would laugh, like the time I shouted “mommy madness!” and killed a pawn with my queen piece….and then he took my queen with another of his pieces. We were laughing so hard about it. Those were nice times, and it went on for a few years, at least until before we moved. From chess, I can’t say I really learned those virtues of patience or strategy, only putting thought into everything you do, being careful. I'm honestly still awful at chess. But I know how to play and it reminds me of a time in the past, and everything that came with it. It reminds me of the gelato at that pizza shop, and the nice guy who ran it down the hill. It reminds me of when I didn’t really know what I wanted out of life. I see a chessboard--the one we still have at home with all the pieces broken and repaired in some way at this point--I remember the park and the sound of birds, my dad telling my brother and I to move carefully, and the feel of the felt on the bottom of the chess piece as I waited to make my next move.

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Fun game I used to play in Ukraine with friends. Not popular game at all but my friends and I loved it.

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people playing mafia card game - Google Search

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Where I come from, soccer is pretty much THE sport to play. Most of my family was involved with it in some way or form. My dad and most of my uncles used to play for division 1 and 2 teams and my grandpa was a coach for a local team. Since a young age my dad encouraged me to play the sport and most of the time we spent together was playing. He started putting me into teams at the age of 6. The importance of soccer in my school was pretty big. If you were good at it, you were popular, if you were bad at it however you were most likely going to get picked on. One of the most evident reflections of this was PE class. My school separated kids between classes. For example there was Class A,B,C and each of these had different classes throughout the day. The only class where everybody was present was P.E. class. We used to hold soccer tournaments between classes and the class who won at the end of the school year would get a pizza party.

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At every gathering since I was young my cousins and I would play hide and seek. Growing up my family had many parties and all my cousins were there, it was difficult to find a game where all of us could be involved in without arguing about how boring it was for some and how fun it was for others. Hide and seek was always a game that everyone enjoyed and we had a lot of fun playing because there was so many of us and it took a lot of time to find everyone. It was always a thrilling feeling, our hearts raced, we laughed the hardest because we had to keep quiet, we all had the urge to pee for some reason. It was a lot of fun and we just always stuck with it. To assign people roles we played bubble gum in a dish and choose three people as the seekers and everyone else were the hiders. When we were outside we had rules of only being able to hide in the back and front yard. When we were inside all the lights were off and we had to hide inside that one room. Whoever was find had to help the og seekers find the others. Playing this game growing up it sort of gave up a lot of self awareness, because we had to keep out for the seekers and for me i think it’s what made me patient.

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I've been playing softball for about 5 years now. I started off playing because my friends mother was starting a team to play in a tournament. It's always been on of my favorite things to do. Whether we'd be going to the beach or park I'd always make sure to have a glove and ball in hand. All of our teams would have chants memorized and would cheer our teammates on once they were up at bat. We'd have our routines set down and our pre-game workouts. We'd laugh and create memories while eating in the dugout or accidentally hitting each other while having a catch. It felt like home because it was always the same girls on my team. We had all grown to become a family.

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olympics soft ball game oklahoma sooners ucla oregon arizona softball tournament school softball player baseball field

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I've always played football growing up, from recess to organized football. Football has always been a huge part of my life and is one of the reason I have been able to make so many friends over the years. Along with that football is the biggest sport in America so along with it representing my home locally it also represents my home nationally.

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Basketball  - Jaelen Harnett                                                             

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Basketball  - Jaelen Harnett                                                             

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When I was a kid, I've never even heard of the sport called basketball. The sport was introduced to me when I moved from Canada to the U.S. At first, I was very bad at basketball. So bad, that I was shooting the ball with two hands. Eventually, I went to different camps and was able to learn lots about the way I was supposed to handle the basketball and the way I am supposed to flick my wrist like Stephen Curry or Klay Thompson (N.B.A players) to get more rotation on the ball. Anyways, that is my story on how I started playing basketball.

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Ive been playing basketball since I was 6. I still remember when I was younger i would always play with my 6 brothers. Growing up I remember I would always want to join in a pick up game, and it really brought my siblings and me together. I started playing on a team in middle school. Then I joined AAU just shortly after. Basketball has built a home for me where I feel safe. My team and I have become family. Knowing that we've been through and thick and thin, definitely has created a strong connection toward this sport and my family.

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Growing up a sport I played was soccer. I was brought up into a family that played soccer so It only made since for me to do the same. I started when I was 5 years old and still play it today. It's something that I've been playing for 11 years now and it just feels like home. I'd get home from school and then I'd get ready for practice. It's been like that for years now. A lot of my best friends are from soccer, the sport has brought a lot of joy to my life.

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When I was in elementary school during recess time a lot of people would play tag, and usually the person who the tagger would be the next tagger during the next recess. If somehow you don't know what tag is, you literally try to run from the tagger who tries to tag you, and if you get tagged you become the tagger, and it goes on. It defines home because you can play it almost anywhere and it wasn't that hard to play and I used to play it with my siblings at the park or something.

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I would play this every day in the community center after school. Dodgeball seems like a simple game from the outside, but there are actually several roles you can play depending on your skills. During elementary school, I became a last resort of sorts. I couldn't throw very well, but I would be in the background dodging and catching balls to get people back in. When my team was losing, I could more often than not save the game this way. This gave me a good reputation for the first time ever, and made me realize that you don't have to be the center of attention all the time for people to like you.

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Growing up I would go to summer camp in Greenwich each year. Whenever it would rain and we were stuck inside of the game room, we would always line up to play four square. One person in the ace spot, one in the king, one in the queen, and finally the jack. People would always make up their own rules, whether it was calling pac-man or letting people do cherry bombs, so it was almost always a different experience. It was one of my favorite games as a kid, and honestly still is a great past time for me and my friends to play when we meet up at the nearby elementary school, so it's definitely a game that really defines home for me.

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Both of my parents are big sailors and have always loved going out to sea for a few weeks at a time. I have always lived close to the water and growing up and I was tough how to sail. but one thing my mom made sure of was all of her kids were really strong swimmers. she made us take swim lessons and safety classes so we would be prepared if there was ever an issue while we were going out on the sailboat for the day.

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Growing up soccer was a big part of my life- both of my parents played soccer when they were my age, and all of my extended family played soccer as well. My older cousin taught me how to play when I was in elementary school, and from then on it became one of my favorite things to do. It was a popular activity at family events, and I liked being able to join them once I got better at it. I started playing it for a team when I was in middle school, and I absolutely loved it. I had to quit unfortunately because of a really bad injury but I’m excited to be able to pick it back up.

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For me, everytime there was a family gathering or a cookout or something, someone would always bring a soccer ball, and many people would play together and have fun. It defines home for me because of the spirit of the game, it is not played professional or with strict rules, one just joins a team and we kick it around having fun trying to kick it inbetween two trees or into a bucket or whatever we choose the goal to be. Also, it is open to everyone, and both people who play it professionally and people who have rarely played have fun together.

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Growing up, we played double dutch outside. You had to listen to the rhythm of the ropes before jumping in. You had to enter right when one rope was up and the other other was down at your feet. It was a split second that could make you or break you. It represents how important it was to have street smarts: to listen before entering, to maintain the rhythm and keep the beat in your head and in your body, to exit at just the right time or else...you'd look like a complete fool. These were key skills for someone who was always the new kid.