Goal Ball - by Oluwaseun Balogun

They said, "Keep your eyes on the goal." So I did. Until I discovered that goals... have legs. They move. They shift. They drift. And just when you think you've arrived, they whisper, "Further." As children, the goal was to stand. Then to walk. Then to run. Then to win. Then to become. But becoming is a funny thing, because the moment you become, life asks, "Now... what next?" Another goal. Another hill. Another bill. Another battle. Another thrill. We're all playing football on a field that keeps stretching. Running after a ball that refuses to grow tired, while we... sometimes do. And isn't it strange? We celebrate the goal, but forget the game. We frame the trophy, but ignore the training. We applaud the applause, but overlook the silence that built the sound. Tell me... What is a goal without the thousand times you almost gave up? What is victory without the vocabulary of defeat? What is light if darkness never taught it how to shine? See... The ball knows something most of us don't. Kick it, it rolls. Miss it, it waits. Lose it, it can be found. Pass it, it creates possibilities. Hold it too long, you lose the match. Maybe that's the lesson. Dreams, like footballs, were never designed to be admired. They were designed to move. To be chased. To be passed on. To gather grass stains, scars, stories. Because a spotless ball has never played a beautiful game. And neither has a comfortable soul. So yes, I've missed. I've fallen. I've watched opportunities bounce past me like they never knew my name. I've heard the crowd go quiet. I've heard doubt chant louder than faith. I've stood before open goals with trembling knees and borrowed courage. But hear me. The game isn't over because you missed once. Or twice. Or twenty times. The scoreboard records goals. Life remembers grit. So lace your hope like boots. Tie determination double-knotted. Step onto the pitch with fear if you must, just don't let fear be the captain. Because one day, there will be a final whistle. Not one we schedule. Not one we postpone. Just one. And when that silence falls, I don't want heaven to remember me for the goals I scored. I want it to remember that every time life kicked me down, I became the ball. I bounced. I rolled. I rose. I stayed in play. And if I leave this field with torn boots, dust on my knees, and breath running out before courage did... Then let the world say, "He didn't just chase goals." "He became one."

Other insights from Oluwaseun Balogun

Referral Earning

Points-to-Coupons