The king is often referred to as “the most valuable” piece in the game. Yet when a pawn reaches the other end of the board, it gets offered to be anything BUT the king.
When I was a kid I remember taking a test to see what I should become as an adult based on my abilities and desires. I got a score of 99% in sports and 99% in literature. At that time I wanted to be a football player and a writer, so the test was working just fine. The question is, what about the options I didn’t even know existed?
A pawn is an expendable piece in a chess set. It symbolizes a soldier. It can only move forward -occasionally to the sides to take down a victim-, and its only purpose is either to protect those behind it or -if it’s lucky enough-, to reach the other end of the board.. to become someone else.
There’s a point in your life when you realize there’re way more options than you ever imagined. Some think it’s too late to start over, some are comfortable enough to avoid even considering if it would be worth it. But in the realm of the very few, there’s an idea that’s beginning to emerge: what else is there for me?
You’re a pawn. You made it till the other end of the board. Now what? Well first of all, congratulations! You’re still alive and that’s already a lot. But don’t get too comfy, you still need to pick what you’ll get promoted into. What do you mean you want to stay a pawn? You can’t do that. You can choose between becoming a Queen (our most popular pick if you ask me), a Rook, a Knight, or a Bishop. No, you cannot become a King, that’s off-limits. I don’t know why, that’s the way it’s always been.
The best part about asking what else is there for yourself is understanding that that question will bring many other questions. And the only way to stumble into an answer is to keep on asking. But let me tell you, it’s not an easy path to walk. You’ll find yourself defending your past self way too many times. You’ll be tempted with reincarnations into better you’s in your field, and you’ll over analyze every possible scenario before making a decision.
But unlike a pawn, we can always look back. Unlike a pawn, life is not black or white. So the question is, what do you wanna be when you reach the other end of the board?