15 Things I Wish Someone Told Me When I Was 15

1.     Don’t change yourself just so you can be accepted. Often times people will change themselves so they can have a large group of friends. But having one dollar is much better than having one hundred pennies.

2.     Treasure all time spent with family; even if you are angry or in a bad mood when you are with your family, that time with them will not always be an option so soak it up while you can.

3.     Girls will always be around; sometimes when we meet someone we believe they have to be the one. But in reality there is a very small chance that a relationship can last that long. We should realize that all relationships are building blocks for later times.

4.     You cannot live a perfect life no matter how hard you try. We all strive for perfection everyday but we all fall short in some way.  It is more important to try to live a good life helping others than living for a personal perfection.

5.     Always keep God close; many times friend’s come and go, which is a part of life. But having God as a friend will always prove to be beneficial because he will never leave you.

6.     Don’t let people run you over; to be a leader in life you can’t let people get ahead of you. No matter how big or strong others are, if you are confident  you can do ten times better than them.

7.     Don’t follow the crowd; when you follow people you are never sure exactly where you are going but when you lead you are in control of what you want.

The Day That Never Happened

Gregg went to sleep on thursday night extremely exhausted; his day had been filled with lots of little punches to the stomach that had worn him down to where he wanted to just die. Gregg hit his sheets and passed out.

When he rose the next day he felt like something was wrong; he opened his bedroom door to find that everything was gone. The whole rest of his house was gone, the whole neighborhood was gone, there was nothing in sight but burning houses and cars. 

Gregg let himself down carefully from his second story bedroom, he quickly noticed that his room was the only structure that was not destroyed. His mind was racing, "What could have possibly happened?"

"Am I the only person still alive in the world?", "What should I do?"

Gregg then walked to church, he thought if anything could have survived it would have to be a church. The church had to have been protected by God's power, or something of that nature, but it was not. It was a pile of ashes like everything else. 

He then thought he should walk to the store since he was beginning to starve. When he arrived the super walmart was still standing, but looked doubtful to still have any edible food. Gregg took one step in and saw that not everything was destroyed. There were a few isles still standing; the clothes section was trampled, the meat department was ravaged and the frozen food section was gone.

Gregg walked around and found the junk food section untouched. Heaven. Every kind of chip, pastry and candy you could ever want. He opened every bag of chip and started to devour them very loudly. He was moaning with delight when he realized there was more moaning, and even more moaning. Gregg jumped to his feet, turned around and saw hundreds of zombies running straight for him. 

Gregg then woke up on friday afternoon, December 21st, 2012. 

RCS versus PHS 11/20/12

As they ran out of the tunnel of cheerleaders they were instantly hit by roar of boo's from the Person side of the court and a loud ovation from the RCS side. Then the Person team ran on the floor and you could not hear yourself think. The noise was deafening, all of the cheerleaders from Person screaming, all of the rowdy students screaming, most of the RCS fans trying yell over everyone else which did not help the situation.

Even though there were so many things hyped up about the Person side the RCS fans still showed that they believed in there Bulldogs. This gave the players on the court a glimmer of hope that they might pull out an extremely amazing upset. But that feeling was short lived after tip-off; shortly into the game a Person guard drove to the basket and was fouled. After he was fouled he tossed the ball off of the back board and large player for Person rose up, grabbed the ball and dunked it viscously. Although the alley-oop did not count it showed the sheer power and talent of the players on the Person side.

RCS may have some fabulous athletes, but they do not have the same amount of raw talent, ability and pure strength that Person has. Even though the final score read that Person had won, the RCS team had earned there respect by playing every minute as if it was there last on the court.

Free Write: Procrastination

Procrastination is holding off on something that you do not want to do but you have to do it anyways. This is a common occurrence in many lives, especially highschoolers who do not want to do there homework. Or maybe adults that need to finish there taxes but just can not bring themselves to do it. It is almost a disease for all people but it is something we all have to deal with and concur. While we contemplate whether we should tackle our assignments or if we should start on the taxes, we know that they must be done or someone will not be happy with us. This is usually the driving force in why I get up off of my rear end and do what has to be done. Although it is always something I do not want to do, after I finish I feel very accomplished and proud of myself for doing it.

We all procrastinate every day, it is nearly impossible to not do it. But when we complete the task at hand we have something inside of us that gives us a little pat on the back and motivates you even more so when the next job comes around it may not take you as long to get up and do it.

Music Response: Boulevard of Broken Dreams

Boulevard of Broken Dreams is a extremely popular song all around the world. The band Green Day is also known world wide for there great songs. I think the artists wrote this song because sometimes people can't find themselves and who they are. Also maybe he was trying to say theres a man who is looking for someone who likes him for who he is, and he can not find that person. He is trying to convey a feeling of loneliness because he is always walking down the boulevard, alone, hoping he finds someone to walk with him. The boulevard represents life and that were always trying to find someone who will go along for the ride with us. He succeeds because he never meets anyone besides his shadow. 

This song can be viewed about the American Dream and how the  view that everyone will be able to make something of themselves on their own generally, is completely wrong because life just isn't like that. People need people and if you try to go out completely alone then life will be very lonely, especially if you fail since not everybody can make it to the top and completely fulfil their dreams.

Poem Response on "I Cry" by Tupac Shakur

I think Tupac Shakur wrote this poem to say that in his own life he went through many difficult times, and all he could do when those things happened was to cry. Which many people can relate to, life is not easy and it is not supposed to be easy. The things we go through is what makes ourselves different from everyone else.

Shakur does a great job of conveying his grief, especially when he says, "I cry because my heart is torn." We know that if our heart was literally torn we would not be living. But what he is trying to say through this is that the pain experienced was so painful it could compare to this of having your heart torn.

Shakur uses the literary device of imagery. He uses this when he says, "The tears I cry are bitter and warm. They flow with life but take no form." The image created in my mind when he says this is that the tears are always there in life, bitter and warm. You will always shed tears and they will never amount to anything. I think he uses this because it helps you visualize the pain he must go through.

Movie Review on 'The Odd Life of Timothy Green' (Free Write)

'The Odd Life of Timothy Green' is a heart warming movie that will make you want to cry. But you know you shouldn't cry because everything that happened in the movie seems a bit far stretched. Even for a Disney like movie. It is sort of like a 'When you wish upon a star' type of movie.

The movie begins with two adults who are trying to start a family and end up coming home crying with the news that they have no hope of starting there family. Crushed, they sit on the couch writing down all the traits the could want in the child they would never have. Then they gather all the papers and put them into a beautiful looking box which is then planted into the family garden.

While the two are asleep a freak thunderstorm appears and dumps a ton of rain. Then a ten year old boy, covered in dirt, comes out of the garden, and into there lives. He looks like any other boy, besides the leaves on his calves.

During the whole movie his parents are trying to be the absolute best parents possible. Which turns them into the over-protective parents that no one wants to have. But young Timothy sticks with them and becomes everyones dream child.

The movie was a nice try for a inspirational movie but they just pushed to hard into trying to make it that.

Top Ten List

This is a top ten list on my favorite baseball players. I chose these players because they are the hardest working players who all have a great love for the game. I believe the best players are made from within, they always go out every game and give 100 percent effort. They may not have the best statistics but they never fail to come up with the big plays at the right times. 

#10 - Andrew McCutchen 

Andrew McCutchen has been playing with Pittsburgh Pirates for his whole career. They have never been a playoff contending team until this year, and the reason why they are contending this year is because of McCutchen. He is batting an amazing average of .338, he is also hitting for power and driving in a lot of runs. He is also one of the best Centerfielders in the game. 

#9 - Derek Jeter 

Derek Jeter is possibly the most popular player in the world, and for good reason. He has been playing since the late 90's and he may have a few more years left in him. He is the best shortstop in the history of baseball, he has been making highlight reel plays since he started playing. And on top of all of this he has over 3,000 hits which is one of the biggest accomplishments in baseball. 

#8 - Buster Posey 

Buster Posey is the best catcher in game simply because he is the hardest worker. Near the end of last season his leg was broken during a collision at home plate. Now he has came back from that injury and put himself in the race for the Most Valuable Player award.  

#7 - Bryce Harper 

Bryce Harper is 20 years old and already one of the most popular player in the league. He is most known for hitting huge homeruns and making big plays in the outfield. What I like most about him is that he is one of the smartest players and is always playing with all of his heart.  

#6 - Joe Mauer 

Joe Mauer was born and raised in Minnesota and now he is playing for the Minnesota Twins. Although they haven't been a championship contending team in years he still goes out and competes everyday. I have a great amount of respect for Mauer because he has not left and gone out trying to get millions of dollars from another team. 

#5 - Felix Hernandez 

Felix Hernandez is very similar to #6. He is playing for the Seattle Mariners who may have never even made it to the playoffs before. But he is the most respected pitcher in the game because he has not left Seattle yet. He is probably one of the greatest pitchers to ever play. This year he threw his first perfect game which puts on a pedestal with only a few other pitcher from this generation. 

#4 - R.A Dickey 

This is his first year as being a standout player, he has been shaking up the league with his nasty knuckleball. He is 35 years old now, which would usually would mean an end to someones career but his is just starting. Being able to throw the knuckleball puts a lot less stress on his arm so he will be able to pitch for many more years. I look forward to being able to watch him for many more years. 

#3 - Mike Trout 

Mike Trout is the most exciting thing to happen to baseball in decades. He has shocked the league with his amazing catches and amazing power. For being a small player, he has amazing speed, power, and agility.  He can explode off the ground to make his homerun robbing catches. 

#2 - Miguel Cabrera 

Miguel Cabrera is simply the most extraordinary player in the league right now. It is almost impossible to describe how amazing of a player he is. He is going for a triple crown right now which means finishing the year with the most home runs, runs batted in, and the highest batting average. It would be the first time since 1967. 

#1 - Justin Verlander 

Justin Verlander has simply been the most amazing pitcher in the last 5 years. Last year he was a 20+ game winner; which allowed him to win the AL MVP and the AL Cy Young award. Which are two of the most prestigous awards in baseball. What I love most about him is that when he has thrown 130 pitches he can still throw a ball 100+ mph. 

How To Guide

 

 

This is guide on how to throw a curve ball correctly. First, a few reasons why it is important to be able to throw an effective curve ball. You must be able to throw a curve ball as a pitcher so you can keep a hitter off balance. If you can get a batter out on his front foot then you will be able to throw any pitch by him. Next, if you want to advance in competition such as high school or the college level you must have so sort of off-speed pitch to be successful.

So first, if you are a right-handed pitcher you would grip the ball on the right side of the ball, if you are a left-handed pitcher then you must grip the ball on the left side.

Now, grip the ball on top of the baseball. With your middle finger gripping the seam and using your pointer finger as leverage as you throw the ball.                                                                                   

 

 

Using your thumb place it at the very bottom of the ball. This will allow you to get added spin on the ball to give a couple for inches of break. As you throw the ball, spin your thumb out from the bottom of the ball to get these results.                                                                                                                 

As you throw the ball, you want to 'break' or 'snap' your wrist in a downward angle. This should give the ball the spin it needs to make a sharp break. If thrown properly the ball should feel as if it is just flowing from your hand.                                                                                                                         

 

 

 

 

 

http://youtu.be/HgMJanFoYKc

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

MSU vs. BSU review

Last week the Michigan State Spartans of East Lansing, Michigan took on the Boise State Broncos of Boise, Idaho in a non-conference college football game to start off each of their seasons. The game was played at Spartan Staduim in East Lansing Michigan. It was only the 13th game ever played under the lights in MSU football history.

The whole game was a hard fought battle by both opposing forces. For Michigan State, Le'Veon Bell carried the whole team on his back, he had 44 carries for 210 yards which was more total yards than the entire BSU team. But even with Bell having a amazing game the Spartans offense was rather ineffective.

What kept the 11th ranked Spartans in the game was their heavyweight defense which allowed a grand total of 206 yards. Lead by Sophmore William Golhston the Spartans only allowed two field goals by the BSU offense. This nationally ranked defense should be a strong point for the Spartans all season.

I thought this was a fantastic game because it was such a close game for all four quarters and you never really knew who would win the game. Although the Spartans prevailed in the end you must give credit to this Boise State team for playing a tough game. With the final score ending up to be
17-13, the Spartans proved they can play under a little bit of pressure and will be a force to be reckoned with throught this college football season.

This picture represents the power of the Michigan State running back as he jump completly jumps over the Boise State defender. Without the play of  Le'Veon Bell it may have been a different story for the Spartans during this game.

Technology

Recently at Zhejiang University in China researchers have produced a drone that can be controlled with your mind. It has been named "Flying Buddy 2", it is controlled by a headset, computer with WIFI and a Parrot AR Drone. To control this drone you must learn a few simple commands, for example if you think right, the drone will fly forward. My opinion on this is that it is simply amazing. This kind of technology is the kind that you dream about as a child. When you think about all the things that could come from things like this, it changes how the world works as a whole. This could translate into thinking about sending a email by just thinking about it or sending a text message. I see this as something having a big impact on the world of technology. Thinking about this technology in the future has both negetives and positives. The negetives could result in it being used in several militaries around the world. I cannot be certain what they could use it as but I'm sure it could have it's ups and downs. The positives out of this could be in computer technology or in phones. Maybe in even into cars, for people with disabilities could use this. Overall this could be a start to something that changes how this world works.

Children's story response

My response to the story would be mostly confusion. I did not understand how the 'old teacher' and all the students knew that something was coming, but they didn't know what it was until it got there. When the 'new teacher' came into the class room she didn't really announce who she was or why she was there, she just took control. I never understood why something was happening, it seemed like everything just happened and it wasn't really explained. For example, she knew all of the childrens names before she got to the classroom, and the children asked her several times how she knew this and the question was never answered. I just felt very confused while I was reading, and this made me not enjoy the short story very much.

Testing

Testing to see if this works.