There are a lot of things you have to do in life that you don't necessarily want to do, but I have learned that you will only make it worse if you go into it with a bad attitude. Over the past few years, a lot of instances have occured where I have had to do something I didn't want to. The end result didn't have to be as bad as my feeling going into it though. Rather than going into things with a bad attitude, I have learned to go into things open minded and positive.

All the time spent dwelling on reasons not to have fun and enjoy myself, could have been used more productively on other topics. Since I made an effort to go into everything more positive, I have enjoyed and done a lot more things that I thought I ever would have. Instead of passing up opportunities to do things I normally wouldn't have done, I have participated in them, and gone into them with positive thoughts.

When going into things like this, it is rare not to find something I liked about it. And even if it wasn't something I liked, I usually enjoyed myself with the people around me. Too many people seem to focus on the negative of everything instead of looking on the bright side of things. The more time spent on the dark side, the harder it is to get into the light and have fun.

Being a Part of a Team

Teamwork makes a dream work. It is hard to believe that just four months ago, I did not know a single person on my team. Now I not only consider these girls teammates, but family, my sisters away from home. We have all been through a lot together these past few months that has bonded us together forever. Pushing each other through practice, to helping finish schoolwork. Laying in bed for hours laughing and talking getting to know each other, and yet being there for each other when we have needed a shoulder to cry on.

It is so hard to believe that five of these girls will not be back on the field with us next year. Each person on our team brought a different quality to the team whether it be the funny joke, or heart warming story. Coming from three different countries, and eleven different states, we have a wide variety of people coming from various backgrounds, yet everyone gets along as if we have known each other for years.

Being part of this team has been such an enjoyment for me. I thought I would be homesick because of going so far from home, but the girls have made Memphis my new home. If it wasn't for all their love and respect they have given me, I don't know if I would still be here, but because of them, coming to Memphis was the best decision I could have ever made.

St. Jude's Marathon

This morning I woke up early to go cheer on people at the St. Jude's Marathon. I originally planned on running in this event, but due to being sick, I decided to just go watch because I wanted to be part of such a good cause. Even though I was disappointed not being able to run in the event, it was an extremely heart touching experience I think everyone should endure.

I understand that everyone has very busy lives, but events like the St. Jude's Marathon are important to attend. It was truly amazing to see all the people come together to run in the marathon and half marathon events, and also all the volunteers and fans cheering on the sides.

Each year thousands of children with a variety of diseases and illnesses are saved by St. Jude's Hospital, but none of that could be accomplished if it wasn't for the support of the community around it. Because St. Jude's runs soley on the money and time people donate, this hospital would not be a success without our support.

It was really nice to see how excited everyone running in the race, and watching was. This is one event that I wish everyone could experience.

Thanksgiving

The weeks leading up to going home for Thanksgiving were quite stressful with all of our soccer traveling. It was so nice to go to the airport without all of my soccer gear and uniforms. When I woke up Wed morning to head home, I was nervous that my flight would be delayed because of the horrible storm! It was raining so hard outside I didn't know if was ever going to stop. By the time my flight left, the weather had cleared up enough for my flight to take off.

When arrived home in Columbus, the weather was very cold and rainy, but a smile was put on my face the moment I saw my family. I had not seen my sisters since I left for school the beginning of August, so I was beyond excited to see them. As for the rest of my family, it had still been a month since I had seen my parents, and two months since I saw my brothers.

Throughout the whole break, I spent most of my time with my family. I did get to see my friends, a few times, but with it being such a short break, my focus went to my family. We had a really nice Thanksgiving! Tons of food, especially sweet potatoes, one of my favorite foods! We also got a little bit of Christmas shopping done.

Before I left to come back to Memphis on Sunday, we finished putting up our Christmas tree. We always put up our tree together, so my mom wanted to make sure I was there to par-take in the events.

Lists and Paragraphs

List A
1. Family
2. Friends
3. God
4. Honesty
5. Soccer
6. Education
7. Working Hard
8. Staying Positive
9. Tell people how you feel
10. outdoors
11. running
12. rollerblading
13. beach
14. home
15. candy
16. ice cream
17. tennis shoes
18. palm trees
19. Colts

List B
1. rude people
2. people who only care about themself
3. snakes
4. cats
5. bugs
6. not talking to people
7. not talking to my family
8. being alone
9. salad dressings
10. chips
11. people who focus on the negatives
12. exams, tests
13. make-up work
14. Dallas Cowboys

11 A is like 8 B
Running is like being alone because when I go running, I am usually by myself. I never realized that one of the things I love to do and one of the things I hate to do relate so closely to each other. Running is the only time I can say I enjoy being by myself. I am a huge people person so I am rarely by myself. If for some reason I am alone though, I tend to go running because I have no patience at all. I always have to be doing something. While I am alone, running, it is my time to myself where I can think about whatever is going through my head. Most people like to just sit and thing by themselves, whereas I enjoy running while I think.

4 A is not like 5 A
Honesty and soccer are not alike because sometimes you have to do unhonest things on the soccer field to succeed. When your winning one to zero and there are only a few minutes left, you might have to kick the ball really far out of bounds on purpose to waste time. Or in other cases, you might throw the ball in even when you know it is not your throw in, or purposely cheap shot someone. Cheating and being unhonest are very similar to me. When you cheat, your are being unhonest, but sometimes you have to be unhonest to win. When playing competitive sports, players do everything in their power to win, including being unhonest. During practice, we always say, "If your not cheating, your not trying."

5 B is like 7 B
Bugs are like not talking to my family because they both make me feel very uncomfortable. I hate being around bugs, just like I hate not talking to my family. When I see a bug in the house and someone doesn't either put it outside, or kill it, I feel uncomfortable because I don't want it to come by me. At the same time, I feel uncomfortable not talking to my family because I do not know how they are or where they are.
Bugs are also black and ugly, just like some of the arguments me and my siblings get in. Lastly, bugs are like not talking to my family because I would never talk back to my parents, just like I would never touch a bug.

Final Paragraph
After looking over my lists and paragraphs, it seems as if I I am a happy, easy going person because everything I listed and said was quite positive. I never got to critical or mean about the topics I disliked because I seemed to put a greater focus on the good in everything. Throughout the paragraphs, I constantly used the words "I feel" showing that I write a lot about my emotions, and the things that have happened directly to me, rather than other peoples generalizations and thoughts. Most of the things I write are based on my past experiences because I am able to add personal touches to the work. Because I was in the experience, I am able to add my thoughts, emotions, and details as I portrayed them throughout the memory, rather than guessing how I would have felt, or what I would have done.

What I Want to Be

It seems like everything in my life has something to do with soccer. I don't know if I will every get away from the sport but it has helped me grow so much as a person. Not only have I made many life long best friends, but I have also learned how to interact with people I don't necessarily agree with, and I have learned to work as a group to achieve a common goal, to succeed! I never realized how many aspects of my life revolve around soccer, but when I was thinking of something to write about, I thought about how I decided what I want to be professionally. Amazingly, I did not want to be a professional soccer player, but through playing soccer, I did find a profession that fits me perfectly.

The spring of my freshman year of high school our soccer team, Fusion, traveled to Lexington, Kentucky for a big soccer tournament. I remember that it was extremely hot, especially because we were playing on turf fields. The black tires in the turf made your feet feel like they were burning, and there was steam streaming off the field. It was the first time that we had really played a tournament on turf fields and I specifically remember my coach asking me if I liked playing on grass or turf better. My answer was that I like grass better because it seemed like more people got injuried playing on turf.

So, the tournament continues, and we continue to win. Finally, on sunday the championship game rolls around and we were going to get to play our first game on the grass field!! We were all so excited because our team was much more used to playing on grass, to people who don't play soccer, it doesn't seem like a big deal, but playing on grass or turf really does make a difference. We were going to play a team from Georgia for the Championship game and we were all excited and pumped up!

After the first ten minutes of the game, we knew it was going to be a battle! As the whistle blew for halftime, we all went running into a huddle to talk about what had to be done differently. The scored was tied 0-0 and we had 45 min left to play.

About ten minutes into the second half, I went to clear the ball out of our end when a girl took a cheap shot at my right leg. As I fell to the ground, my teammates ran around me to make sure I was okay, but I wasn't moving much. My coach then came running out and carried me off the field because I could not walk. I sat on the bench the rest of the game in pain, cheering on our team to victory. We ended up winning the game 1-0.

After the game, my coach and another dad carried me to the award ceremony where we recieved trophies. Once the award ceremony was over, Terry, pretty much my second mom, called my mom to tell her that I had hurt my leg pretty bad. The trainer was unsure if I tore my achilles tendon or broke my shin. Terry said she would take me to the hospital in Lexington, but I just wanted to go home and go to my doctor when I got home.

So we drove three hours home, and waited for my mom to come pick me up from Terry's house. Once she got there, I just wanted to go home, so I went to the doctor the next day, Monday. It turns out I broke my shin all the way through so I would be in a cast for quite some time, 12 weeks to be exact. It was a very long recovery process, but throughout the whole process, I stayed positive making it go by quickly.

When I stepped back on the field for the first time after getting hurt, I knew that I wanted to be a Physical Therapist. With out a Physical Therapist, it would not be here today playing Division 1 soccer. Being a Physical Therapist is such a rewarding job, and you get to help so many people get back to the things they enjoy most.

Although breaking my shin was not a fun thing, it helped me decide a huge decision in my life, what I wanted to be.

Plane Ride

This past weekend was a weekend full of mixed emotions. It all started on Thurday morning, as we got ready to head to Huntington, West Virginia to play Marshall. Our day started off nice and early at 7:30am when our soccer team had to meet at South Campus to get on a bus to take us to the airport. From there, our flight to Marshall was not a direct flight so we left Memphis at 9:30 am and landed in Charlotte at around 12:00 eastern time. We then had a layover at the Charlotte airport for two hours until we could get on the connection plane to Huntington, West Virginia. As 2:00 rolled around, everyone began to get ready to board the plane. I was extremely excited to go to Marshall because I was going to get to see my parents, grandparents, and some friends because Marshall is only about two and a half hours from my home.

As we all got on the plane, we were shocked at how small it was. It only seated about 30 people, and it had propellors! Our flight to Marshall was supposed to be a quick one so everyone was anxious to get in the air, but once we got up in the air, something did not seem right. When I looked out the window it did not seem like we were high enough in the air, but I just figured it had to do with being in a small plane and only going a short distance, so I kept talking to Brittney, the girl sitting next to me. After looking out the window again a few minutes later, I noticed that the propellor of our small plane was no longer spinning.

Now I was extremely confused. Was the propellor just moving so fast that it didn't appear to be spinning, or was it really stopping? As I sat starring out the window, Brittney began to get extremely nervous at what she was watching. Brittney is always a very scared and nervous flier, and this was not making my situation sitting next to her any better. Seconds later, Brittney began crying when she saw the wheels of the plane began come out as if we were landing. It was an extremely weird sight to see knowing that we had only been in the air for about fifteen minutes. Then everyone broke loose in the plane.

An obnoxious man in the front of the plane began barking rude comments to the flight attendent whose eyes became very big as she realized what was happening. She quickly began to calm everyone saying that everything was okay, that we were heading back to the Charlotte airport because the plane was not functioning properly. As we quickly turned around and relanded in the Charlotte airport, many emergency vechicals followed our flight into the boarding zone. Once we got off the plane, we were told that one of the engines on the plane blew. We all sat dazed and confused on what had just happened.

After sitting around talking for a few minutes in the airport, I decided to call my mom and tell her what had just happend. She asked me if I had been nervous, but my answer to her was kind of shocking to me. In all honesty, I was not nervous or scared as everything unfolded because I don't think I was given the chance to be. I am always a calm flier, so Brittney and I usually sit together because she hates flying so much. As things began to go wrong with the plane, I was too worried about keeping Brittney calm, so I never really realized everything that was happening directly around me with our plane. After talking with my mom for a few more minutes, I had to hang up to listen to the news the airport was giving us concerning our flights.

They said that our flight would be delayed till at least 5:30pm because they were trying to either fix our plane, or find another one to take us to Huntington. As it turns out, they could not come up with a solution for our flight plan, so our flight was cancelled. With the sound of that, our coaches and the airport attendents went off to find an alternate way of getting us to Marshall. After our crazy flight, many girls wanted to take a bus, but instead, we got on a different flight at 8:40pm.

This made it an extremely long day for us. We left campus at 7:30am on Thursday, and did not arrive in Huntington until 10:30pm that night. By the time we finally got to our hotel, everyone was so tired and exhausted that everyone went directly to bed. It had been a very long and tiring day, but thankfully, everyone was in bed safe and sound!

The Rake
The rake is a very interesting object used in the story “The Rake: A few scenes from my childhood,” by David Mamet. Most people know what a rake is, but to some people, a rake has a much deeper meaning than just a cleaning tool. Many people use rakes to tidy up their yards to make them presentable, but by doing this, are people trying to hide something?
In the story, the rake was used to beautify a house that really had no beauty within it. The outside might have looked clean and happy, but on the inside, it was blue and distressed. Sometimes it is not about how the outside of things look. Like people always say, “You can never judge a book by its cover.”
In the story, the leaves that had fallen to the ground seem to symbolize all the problems going on inside of the house. Everyone in the family could see all the bad things, just as they could see all the leaves on the ground. Instead of working together to get over these problems, they were just bundled up inside a bag, as were the leaves. No problems or agreements were ever made in the family because no one communicated how they felt or stood up for themselves. I think it would be stressful to constantly have problems thrown on me when nothing ever is resolved.
I also feel that a rake is a very scary piece of equipment that has always seemed very dangerous to me. The long, sharp claws always seem make me nervous that someone is going to get hurt. It seems that at any moment in time, the fingers of the rake could just grab anyone and hurt them. In the story, the rake does end up hurting Mamet’s sister causing a lot of blood. The rake in the story than also begins to signify blood.
The rake in the story symbolizes many other things than just a cleaning tool. It symbolizes how things are different on the outside than on the inside. It also signifies all the problems throughout the story. The rake then in the end of the story symbolizes the blood and violence during the story. As the story progresses, the rake develops as an object to carry a deep meaning to the story.

When I moved to Memphis, everyone told me it would be a huge adjustment. It was a new part of the country and a new culture, but I was up for the challenge. I knew it would be hard to leave everything I knew and had grown up with behind, but I was ready for a change. Coming from a safe suburb outside of Columbus, Ohio, I am not used to being around a lot of crimes. This is a place where I have to be more cautious in everyday life, where the crime rates are the highest in the country. Up until the night of September 30th, I had felt safe on campus and in Memphis, but now I don’t know if I can say that. The events that happened on the University of Memphis campus that weekend were extremely sad, and opened my eyes up to everything I have been trying to ignore.
On Sunday night, September 30th, I was helping clean the kitchen of my friends’ house when I received a panicked phone call from one of my teammates. She wanted to make sure that I was okay because someone had just been shot on campus and she could not find me around the dorms. At that moment I did not know what to think or do; I just asked the basic questions like who, when, and where. My teammate, Ashley, told me to just stay where I was for the night because she did not feel comfortable with me coming back on campus with everything that was going on. As I hung up the phone, I sat for a moment in disbelief at what I had just heard, than I told the news to my friends at the house. We all put down our mops and rags and looked at each other for a moment before anyone said a word. Everyone was in shock at what I had just said, what had just happened minutes away from us, what had happened on our campus to one of our fellow student-athletes. After a minute or so of silence, we began talking. We seemed to talk about everything from how sad it was, to who would have done such a thing, but the one topic that was constantly directed toward me was being safer on campus and throughout the city.
During points of our talk, I felt as if my friends were my parents because they were constantly telling me I needed to be safer in everything I did. It shows me how much they care about me, and it opened my eyes to the things I was trying to ignore. I understand that this is not Ohio, but at the same time it is hard for me to get out of my normal routines from home. I can’t walk alone anywhere down here and I can’t trust people I don’t know, which is just about everyone. I know there is bad stuff going on all around me, but I seem to have fallen in the same trap as so many other Memphis residents. I know things are rougher down here than in my hometown but like so many other residents here, I have chose to ignore the bad. This cannot be done anymore though. So many lives have been taken and changed by all the crimes and violence in this city it is shocking. We need a leader in this city to step up and make a difference. People need to get off the streets and go to school so they can get an education to get a real job. This would help solve some of the problems. When we have more people with educations, they will become busier with a job, and have less time to spend creating problems throughout the city.
It is a shame that another person had to lose their life to an act of violence. Throughout this sad situation, people all around campus have learned many important things. For the people from out of town, we have learned that we do need to be more conscious about the things going on around us. Hopefully the people from Memphis, and the people from out of town bond together and find a leader to help make a difference. The crime and violence in Memphis needs to stop.

Amanda Olszewski
Mrs. Winter Sumner
Textual Analysis
September 23, 2007

The Fourth of July
The story “The Fourth of July” was written about a young girl growing up and discovering the world around her. Audre Lorde is the author of her own story in which she tells about the summer of her eight grade graduation. Throughout this story, Audre uses very dramatic imagery to get various points across. Through her sustaining descriptions I felt as if I was sitting right next to her. Also in the story, irony plays an immense role in how everything links together. Little things that did not seem to have any reference together all of the sudden seemed to make the story even more interesting. The tone in the story also added a lot of personality to the text. From the beginning to the end of the story, the tone played a big role in getting me involved. I felt as if I knew how she felt the whole way through the story. The story starts out in the late 1940’s with Audre’s family making a trip to Washington DC for her and her sister’s graduation. Audre was extremely excited to go on this new adventure, but she did not know what she was about to open her eyes up to.
Throughout the story, Audre uses very vivid and rich words that painted a picture for me as the reader. She used phrases like the “brown bread, green pepper, and little violently yellow iced cakes” (Lorde 567) to help me see what she was looking at. She did this throughout the story to add some deep meaningful color to a time era where everything else seemed to be white and black. This story was written during the 1940’s when segregation was still a big problem in our country. Audre’s family was trying to make it as a black family when everything around them in America seemed to be white. In the story, white began to take on a bigger role than just a color; it began to signify power in the story. White was the color of the waitress who told them they had to leave, the color of the ice cream they could not eat, and the color of the stone monuments that blinded them with their brightness and hardness. White was the color that signified the summer of Audre’s eight grade year, the summer that opened her eyes.
That summer, Audre was shocked when she opened her eyes to the world around her. She learned many important things that trip that she never even knew existed because of her over protective parents. Her parents, up to that point, had her locked in a cage from the all the unpleasant people and things around her. The trip to Washington, D.C. was an exceptionally good learning experience for Audre especially because she went into the trip so positive and excited. Audre was anxious to leave for Washington, D.C. not only because she was going to see the capital of the United States, and all of its monuments, but also because she was going to get to ride on a train during the day. Riding on a train does not seem like a big deal to me, but she on the other hand, had never ridden on a train during the day. When Audre was younger, she rode on a milk train at night because her mom said it was cheaper but she later found out the real reason. Black people used to not be allowed to ride on dining cars during the day, but her mom did not tell her this because she her mom she did not want her to know about the segregation around her. Her mom did not like things she could not change, so she would not speak of them. The train situation has a very unique analogy to it though. The black people were only allowed to ride on trains when it was dark outside, while the white people were allowed to ride the trains during the day when it was bright outside. When I think of dark things, I think of the color black, as well as when I think of bright things, I think of the color white. This then goes back to how everything back then was about black and white.
Audre’s parents kept her behind the walls of their house because they wanted to protect her from the uncertainty of the people surrounding her. Her parents “protected their children by never giving them name, much less discussing their nature” (Lorde 568). This statement made by her parents is very ironic to a statement made later in the story. While they were at a monument, Audre states that their parents do not allow them to wear sunglasses. This makes for a very interesting case because it brings on to hide or to not hide. Her parents are trying to hide her from the bad going on around her, but they don’t allow her to hide behind sunglasses to protect their eyes from the sunlight. It is a very interesting topic that brings on many questions. Without the children wearing sunglasses, it causes them to squint to protect their eyes. When one squints, the black in the eyes begins to overtake the white. This again goes back to the issue of black vs. white.
From the beginning to the end of the story, the tone built adds a lot of personality. The story starts off with Audre very excited to go to Washington DC. She was a young girl with no worries going into the trip to Washington DC, but she left as a young woman trying to find her place in a society that seemed to not need her. This began to answer the question she had in the beginning of the book on how she was “supposed to stop being a child” (Lorde 567). She did not know what she was getting herself into when she left that summer day, but it changed her life forever. This might not have been the best graduation present, but it did teach her a lot of important things. Toward the end of the story Audre’s tone and attitude completely changed from the fun, playful little girl to a mad, young women trying to make a stand on what she believed in. Although her parents would not speak up about how they had been treated, Audre was not going to let anyone push her and her family around. She stopped being a kid and stood up for herself by writing a letter to the president.
This story was a very interesting story to me. The description and vivid words made me feel as if I was right there with the characters in the story. The more and more I read the story, the more information I began to pick up. The ironic statements made attention-grabbing points that I do not think I would have picked up on if I had not reread it. Lastly, the tone in the story really built up the internal emotions of the story. It taught me as the reader how Audre felt while she was going through a very drastic change at such a young age. The story was very enjoyable to read and I learned some valuable facts from it.

Work Cited
Lorde, Audre. "The Fourth of July." Eschholz, Paul, Alfred Rosa and Virginia Clark. Language Awareness: Readings for College Writers, 9th Edition. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's , 2005. 567-570.

Prime Directive

The story I read is a very interesting story. When I first read it, I had no idea what to think. There was so much going on that I did not know what the point was, or where the author was going with the story. It seemed to be jumping from subject to subject with no point, but after I sat and compared and contrasted pieces of the story, it all started to come together like a puzzle.
Throughout the story, there was a constant battle of how things should be compared to how they truly are, and this story describes many of them. Each character has a role in this story promoting a section of information that makes the story whole.
During the story, the author sees many things you too would see on a normal Halloween night or weekend. When I think of Halloween, many different thoughts come to mind, but the more I observed these thoughts, the more things in the story began to make sense. When I think of Halloween, I think of dark scary nights, with cute kids in costumes. I think of going to parties where everyone is dressed up having a good time, with decorations surrounding us trying to scare us, tombstones of R.I.P., and people talking of stories of the dead and the devil. And then there are the pranks. Are they scary or fun? Depends on what end of them you are on. Am I the one playing a prank on someone, or is someone setting me up to get scared and run away. After analyzing all the different aspects of Halloween, I was able to understand how things seem and how they are. Things may seem scary, when they are really fun, or vise versa, they may seem fun, when indeed they are truly scary. The ideas of how Halloween is tied the rest of the story together.
The story opens up with the author dressing up as Captain James T. Kirk for Halloween. In the beginning of the story, this seems to be extra detail, but in all reality, it sets the stage for the story. The simple Captain costume begins to carry a much deeper meaning throughout the story as I learned how much he despised a Captain, Captain Graner. Later in the story, an important quote comes up showing that how things are is not always how things should be. “I think of my enlisted cousin who, at my grandmother’s funeral, dressed in his Marine uniform, said that he couldn’t wait to bomb Iraq into the fucking Stone Age.” Usually, at a funeral, people do not talk about bombing a country and killing more people. It’s usually a time of sorrow, not a time to talk about killing more people.
Throughout the story many examples of this are used to tie things that happened that night, to things that have happened in the war. First, the author is continuously going from party to party, constantly traveling and moving. It did not seem that things changed from party to party, he was still unhappy, and bored. This is related to the war because during the war, the army is constantly moving from one location to another. Usually things don’t change a whole lot from one location to the next. There is not much different, they are still in the same war, trying to accomplish the same thing.
The moving part also coincides with his wife moving to Indiana. Many pieces in this story seem to flow together. When his wife moves away, he is left quite lonely, with pretty much nothing. His house has nothing left in it except a computer, six books, and a lamp. Because he is lonely he goes to his neighbor across the street, Mel, to pass out Halloween candy. Mel is described as a person who wakes up every morning asking “How can I help others today?” From a guy who wakes up every morning thinking this, you would not expect him to purposely scare little children on Halloween.
There are many examples in this story that prove that things aren’t always what they are made out to be. In this story, a lot of the things are actually the exact opposite of what you would think. Sometimes how I think should be are really not at all what they really are.

Beliefs

Everyone has special things they believe in from time to time, but some things stick with people for life. I have three significant beliefs in my life that have and always will be with me. Up till doing this blog though, I had never noticed how close all three of them tie in with each other. Telling people you love them, family, and God are my three significant beliefs that all end up braiding together to make one.
At first, my “telling people you love them” is going to start out as a story, but it is a very important one to me. Going into the summer of my senior year, a bad accident happened. Well it was a combination of accident and sickness. One of our family’s good friend, Chris, was very sick. He had been battling cancer for years, ten to be exact, but he always seemed to beat it, and then it would come back. It was a Saturday night, the weekend after graduation, so I was off at a graduation party. On my way home that night I was going down the hill to my neighborhood when I saw tons of lights. As I got closer, a policeman stopped me and told me I needed to go home another way, that there had been an accident, so I turned around and called my mom to tell her what was going on, and that I was okay because she always gets nervous when she hears sirens. I finally made it home and was talking with my mom when our phone started to ring, it was Gina (Chris’s wife). I knew something was not right, Chris had passed away. The next morning everything started to piece together. The night before, Chris felt really sick and went unconscious, so they called the ambulance. On the way to the hospital, the ambulance was hit by another car (the accident I saw). It was a very sad time, but at his funeral, I learned an extremely important thing that I do everyday. Gina told me to tell my parents every night before I go to bed I love them because her children never got to says those last words to him before he was gone. Even though I am a college student who doesn’t have a whole lot of time, I call my parents every night to tell them I love them, which leads into my next significant belief, family.
My family means the world to me. Being the oldest of five kids is not always the easiest thing, but I will definitely say it has made me who I am today. Growing up in such a close family has been the best thing in my life and I am so appreciative for being given that chance. In this point in time, it seems that a lot of families are not close, or are not even together anymore, but my family is inseparable. Leaving to come to college 500 miles away from them was very hard, but we have made it work. Thank goodness for free cell phone minutes from sprint to sprint because if not we would have an extremely large phone bill. Most people's goodnight calls home last about two minutes, mine on the other hand last about 30 minutes. Everynight I try to talk to everyone in my family, whether it be online or on the phone. I have been a role model for my siblings since I was little so I feel it is very important to stay in good contact with them. For as much as I have taught them, they have taught me. Being in a big, close family is very rewarding. My parents and siblings have pushed me to be the best person I can be. There have been many times I have been confused on what decision to make and I asked myself how my family would think if I did this or that. I would never want to let them down, so that strives me to do the right things. Not only am I close with my immediate family, but also with my aunts, uncles, grandpa, and all of my second cousins. During the year, our WHOLE family gets together at least four times which is really nice.
My last important thing is God. Without him, none of the things I mentioned above could happen or even be part of my life. Through and good bad he will always be there for me. He might not be able to be seen, but he is always there. The extra push you need to get past a hard time, or the smile you need to cheer you up. Sometimes the littlest things are the best things that can be done. It doesn't take a million dollars to make me happy. Just knowing someone cares and is always there for me puts a smile on my face. There are days when I wake up just thinking of everything I need to do, but I know with his help I will get through my day. It might not be easy or enjoyable, but I will survive.
Throughout my life, I have been through many good and bad times. I have done many things wrong, but more importantly I have learned from those experiences. No matter what happens to me, where ever I end up, my beliefs will always stay with me.

Beliefs

"Tell people you love them"
The beginning of summer is always a great time of year. School letting out, graduation, and graduation parties! Our first weekend out of school all of my friends and I went to a graduation party. We had a great time swimming and hanging out with everyone...
As I drove home from the graduation/pool party something felt very ackward, but I figured I was just tired from my long day. As I started down the hill to my neighborhood I went around the curve and was blinded with all of the flashing lights. Seconds later a police officer stopped me and told me I needed to turn around and go home another way...
Panicked, I called my mom immediately to tell her what was going on and make sure she was at home safe and sound.
When I arrived home my mom were talking about the parties and all the days festivities when the phone rang. Both of our hearts dropped. It was one of my mom's good friends, Gina, on the phone. As I starred into her eyes, I knew something was not right...

"God"
Through and good bad someone will always be there for you. You might not be able to see him, but he is always there. The extra push you need to get past a hard time, or the smile you need to cheer you up.
Sometimes the littlest things are the best things that can be done. It doesn't take a million dollars to make me happy. Just knowing someone cares and is always there for me puts a smile on my face.
There are days when I wake up just thinking of everything I need to do, but I know with his help I will get through my day. It might not be easy or enjoyable, but I will survive.

"Loving Family"
My family means the world to me. Being the oldest of five kids is not always the easiest thing, but I will definitely say it has made me who I am today. Growing up in such a close family has been the best thing in my life and I am so appreciative for being given that chance. Now a days it seems that a lot of families are not close, or are not even together anymore, but my family is inseparable.
Leaving to come to college 500 miles away from them was very hard, but we have made it work. Thank goodness for free cell phone minutes from sprint to sprint because if not we would have an extremely large phone bill. Most people's goodnight calls home last about two minutes, mine on the other hand last about 30 minutes. Everynight I try to talk to everyone in my family, whether it be online or on the phone.
I have been a role model for my siblings since I was little so I feel it is very important to stay in good contact with them. For as much as I have taught them, they have taught me. Being in a big, close family is very rewarding.

High and Low

I read the article “High and Low,” by Anthony Lane, in the magazine The New Yorker. During the beginning of the article I was very unsure of what the writer was trying to get across to me as the reader. Although the article started very slow, it all began to run together and I learned some very interesting facts about how cheap it is to fly in Europe. Flights to Trieste, if purchased in advanced, would only cost $17.50 and the return flight would only cost $1.40.
Throughout the article, the author used a few different versions of structure. The article started off as a story that did not give much reference to what the upcoming text would be about. Anthony Lane started telling about his adventure to Vitoria- Gasteiz, a city located in Spain. The authors tone showed that he was very confused and lost when he first ventured to the unknown city with him stating, “My destination was Vitoria-Gasteiz, a placed I had never hear of, whose grid reference, climate, cuisine, night life, fauna, and geological foundation I had made no attempt to discover.”
As the article continues on, the voice of the article becomes very objective with sarcastic remarks thrown in to add more personality to the text. To help do this, Anthony Lane changed the structure of the article to short paragraphs listing important information. The author went into great detail on a variety of topics including pricing of flights, different airline carriers, and some of the leading complaints by flyers. To increase the value of the text and humor the reader, he added in sarcastic tone which helped entertain the reader on a rather plain article. Some comments made like, “There is another, more thoughtful response to the charge of planetary indifference: sell your car and walk,” helped add a dry sense of humor to the article.
The authors diction in the article really helped develop the tone. He used high class vocabulary during important spots in the article to set a serious mood. He also used some very catchy lines like “avaricious eyes,” and “succumb to thirst” to catch the readers attention. Lastly, as the reader I was able to paint pictures in my head while reading this story with his great description. Lines like “A chipper, salty-haired fellow in jeans and sneakers…,”and “rickety stones shook the bones…” made me feel like I was part of the story.
During the beginning of this story I was very uninterested, but as the story progressed I learned many interesting facts about flying in Europe.