My Life As the Chess Queen by Raven Niles

(Age 18, Ryan Academy High School, Norfolk, Virginia)

Life is a constant battle. People come and people go. Things are give and are torn away from us. We have to work for everything we have, and we have to work twice as hard to keep it.

Life is not an easy game to play, it is thrown at us and we are expected to catch it fast as it comes. Life gives us the unexpected. There is not one smile that is permanent. Love comes and goes. Heartache is a deleterious emotion that can make our ways of thinking very destructive. This is our battle.

Every move we make affects the rest of our lives and everyone around us. One day we could be standing proud and strong and the next day we have fallen on our own lies and mistakes.

Life is a daily battle and one big game of irreversible strategic moves.

Chess is very similar. When playing chess you have to think outside the box and plan your moves in advance. One irrational decision, without strategic thinking, could cause the entire game to make a bad turn. You don’t play chess alone. There is another, an opponent, who can affect how much you progress in the game. It’s the same with your life, you make a move and then fate makes a move. These moves and decisions constantly play off against each other, just like chess.

In the complicating and mind stimulating game of chess, the Queen is the most important piece. The Queen can move anywhere She wants. The Queenhas more power than any piece on the board. She has all the control. In life we are just as powerful as the Queen. We are completely in control and it’s up to us if someone takes that away. We are the Queen in our game of life. We can make any moves, life’s just waiting for us to move it.

Life is the biggest game of all. Good decisions will set your life, or chess game, on the path you need it to go. But persistent bad moves and decisions can make life a very poignant journey. A good chess game is never guaranteed, just like life.