Discuss an accomplishment, event, or realization that sparked a period of personal growth and a new understanding of yourself or others.

The soccer nation never fit me.

However, as a 13-year-old boy in a public middle school, I had no choice: soccer was the only option during Wednesdays' PE class. One day, someone passed me the ball, but instead of trapping it with my foot, I accidentally kicked it into my own goal. From then on, I was benched continuously.

Exhausted by the mind-numbing activity of watching a ball bounce from side to side, I pulled a book from my mother's bedroom shelf that had only served as decoration. Its cover said, Thus Spoke Zarathustra. Not surprisingly, I could barely understand it. Studying in a small place at the heart of the forest had provided little preparation for understanding Nietzsche's thoughts. Nevertheless, it kept me distracted.

Yet, I was ...