Soccer by Stephie

Soccer is life.  That’s what I always say.  I mean, it’s true, but deep down I’m just not sure anymore.  I really do love it.  I’m also really good, but my madre never fails to mention her favorite phrase in her annoying, know-it-all voice saying You’re just a mediocre player y nada mas.  At times I know it’s not true, but then I forget what reality is because she’s said it so many times over and over and over again that the phrase has been forevermore engraved in my memory and it will never go away I always hear it when I feel insecure a voice inside my head says I am only a mediocre player, mediocre, that’s all.  What do I do then?  I go out and play.  That is what I do.  I know I am not the best player in the world, but a little more practice is all I need. 

On the field, I feel like a different person.  On the field, I feel free.  On the field, I can be me. 

My head washes everything away like at the lavanderias so I can pay attention only to what I have to only to what is important, the one thing that never lets me down and is always there when I need it which is soccer, soccer forever.

Soccer is like a child’s lollipop, like a couple’s wedding.  It’s something I will cherish forever.  I never want it to end.  Never

Dale Steph!  Go!  You can do it!  I hear cheering from the crowd in my subconscious, and I make it stay there.  I know it is my friends who speak, and no one else.  I stopped searching, and even glancing at the crowds, because I know she won’t be there.  She never shows up, probably to not have to witness my mediocrity.  How can one person cause so much disappointment…I can tell you that, but why, I will never understand.

Footnotes

1.  The title used here does have something in relation to the story, but not the theme, or main reason behind the pastiche.  The pastiche will not be talking about soccer, but instead using the idea of soccer to depict its theme of how my family conflicts with my hobbies.  Cisnero demonstrates the same use of chapter titles, often not defining the deeper meaning of the pastiche in it.

2.  The whole pastiche is written in first person, as it is noted clearly in the first few words.  “The House on Mango Street” is also written in first person throughout the whole book.

3.  The use of Spanish words is very common throughout Cisnero’s book.  Most of the time, she will only put one of the words in Spanish.  Here I’ve used the word “madre”, which also imitates Cisnero because it has been italicized.

4.   The capitalization of the word “You’re” is something that renders many different interpretations, all of the which give the person to whom “You’re” is representing great emphasis and add power to how it should sound when said aloud.  Cisnero uses this in her book in the chapter “Alice Who Sees Mice.”

5. “Y nada mas” is the same as in number 3.  It is a word in Spanish which has been italicized.

6. This whole sentence is a run-on sentence.  Run-on sentences are used many times in Cisnero’s writing, that much so, that you can barely go one chapter without reading a run-on sentence.

7. Repetition is a key ingredient in Cisnero’s style, and helping her get her message through to the reader.  Here the word “over” is repeated three times, to show how strongly I feel about what it’s referring to, and also to convey to the reader that in real life it has been said “…over and over and over again…”

8. Repetition can be found here once again, but instead with the words mediocre.  It makes the word much stronger and with much more sentiment.  You can tell that “mediocre” is very heartfelt.

9. The three sentences following the number 9 are all like Cisnero’s style because of its sentence structure.  The three sentences contain monosyllabic words throughout, and are also very short. 

10. This sentence can kind of relate to the character Esperanza because of the hope you can see.  Esperanza, throughout the book demonstrates she is always hoping for the best, and never feels that it is the end.  Here, a little drop of hope is shown through the fact that I say all I need is a little more practice.

11. This paragraph shows two of Cisnero’s styles.  First is the fact that is a very short paragraph.  Cisnero likes to write short paragraphs all through the book.  Second is the parallelism found here.  The three sentences in this paragraph are parallel, which is something that Cisnero likes to use to show the type of relationship the sentences have.

12. This whole paragraph is one long, run-on sentence, like explained in number 6.

13. Cisnero sometimes doesn’t identify the noun using proper nouns, but instead uses the words “he” or “she.”  In those two sentences, I use the word “she” instead of naming my mom.  The effect of this is for the reader to pay more attention to who “she” is talking about.