"If life were a Chess game, I'd be a pawn.
Nobody really likes pawns. They are the expendable crewmen of the game - sent out to "feel" the enemy, positioned so as to be captured instead of a more valuable piece, and if captured, no one misses them. If the pawn manages to capture an enemy piece, it is usually another pawn. And the enemy usually sacrificed that pawn on purpose, to buy time or force the opponent into position. If the pawn captures a piece of greater status, it is not cause for joy or praise. The player who lost their piece is shamed for laziness or neglect, and the player who captured it is nervous that he may have been set up, and feels shame for his enemy for such a shortsighted loss.
The pawns is of less value than the other pieces in the army for good reasons. They are limited in their direction, distance, and attack. They are usually the first to be captured, and there is no effort made to regain them.
The pawn has one objective: get across the field. It is a pleasant surprise for the pawn to capture any piece, and a greater one for it to actually make it across the field uncaptured itself.
Should the pawn reach the enemy's home base, it gains one thing: imprisonment. It is swapped for a more valuable, previously captured, piece.
The pawn's entire existence is self-sacrifice. It is meant to be captured, either to buy time, allow another piece to move or protect a higher ranking piece from being captured.
I am a Pawn. Though I sometimes wish for the pomp of the Bishop, or the glory of the Knight, or the strength of the Tower, or even sometimes, the power of the Queen, I wish to be other than myself for only a moment. I was made to be a Pawn, and it is good.
To be the first one on the battle field.....
To stand shoulder-to-shoulder with my fellow Pawns, my countrymen behind me and my foe before me....
To be literally incapable of moving backwards, while limited in distance and attack.......
To be one of the first to make a move, one of the first to engage in battle......
To have one goal, one focus: make it past all the enemy, surrender, and trade freedom for imprisonment, that the king may have better odds of survival......
That takes courage. It takes a will of iron. It takes an unshakable drive to do what one was designed to do.
That is an awesome feeling. And while I may have my moments of envy, I am a Pawn, and I love it.
