May 12, 2014
7th Grade Reflection
If you’re looking for huge amounts of homework and no free time, seventh grade is the grade for you!! I’m always up until 9:00 p.m doing my homework, and that’s on a good day! Not to mention the thousands of quizzes we have each week! Seventh grade has been very tough!
When I first arrived, in August, I expected that there would be a lot of homework. I had heard from former seventh graders that seventh grade was the worst year for homework. Right after that first day of school I knew what they were talking about. And boy were they right! I soon realized that there was a huge amount of homework every night! When I got home on the first Friday of the school year, I had a math test the next Tuesday, a Spanish worksheet to do, and a science quiz on Wednesday!
By October, I had totally forgotten what it was like to have free time because of all the homework that I was being assigned. I had the same routine everyday. I’d get off the bus, walk into my house, get a snack, and sit down to do homework for four hours. It was terrible. All I wanted was just a little bit of time to do what I wanted, but that was just a distant memory.
Eventually, I figured out that if I wanted to do well in seventh grade, I’d have to be willing to work very hard! My goal was to get straight A’s in all my classes, and it was one of the hardest goals that I’ve ever set in my entire life! Another sacrifice that I knew I’d have to make is that if I wanted to play football and basketball for the school, I’d have to wake up an hour earlier than usual to attend the early morning practices. I can’t tell you how many times, I’ve woke up this year fully exhausted from being up late the night before from homework, and having to get up early in the morning for football/basketball practice. But in the end, it was worth it!
In seventh grade, I learned:
subject specific: life lessons:
1. how to conjugate verbs in Spanish 1. how to handle defeat
2. how to solve multi-step equations 2. how to handle stress
3. how to create and run a blog 3. how to push myself
As the year comes to a close, I’ve had many ups and many downs, and I’m hoping I can end the year strong!
May 3, 2014
Cinco de Mayo Classic
Lots of people spend Cinco de Mayo at restaurants, pools, and fiestas. But I chose to spend mine in New Braunfels, Texas with my baseball team in the Cinco de Mayo Classic.
As I checked one last time to see if our game really was at 8:00 a.m., I saw that sure enough it was, and I’d have to wake up at 5:00 on Saturday morning.
The alarm goes off at 5:00, and I’m ready to hit the snooze button, but then I realize that it’s time for a competitive day of baseball! I pop out of my bed, throw on my uniform, grab a piece of toast, and hop into the car for an hour and a half drive to New Braunfels. Because we have to arrive an hour before the game, we have to leave the house at 5:30 to get there at 7:00.
The car ride lingers on and on, and I’m just waiting for us to get there so we can show the opposing team what we’ve got! After what seems like eternity, we finally arrive at Comal Red, the field that we’re scheduled to play on.
As we finish up our warm-ups and head into our dug-out, game time is getting closer by the second. I’m so pumped up — ready to destroy the other team! Finally, the moment we’ve all been waiting for. A simple two words. “Play Ball!”
I’m the leadoff batter and I’m ready to smash the ball! After I receive the sign from coach, I step into the batters box, load, and explode! Boom! I hit a hard line drive right between the center fielder and the left fielder and it went all the way to the fence. Coach waves me around first, second, and even third, I was going for an inside the park home run! I can’t describe how good it felt to be rounding third base! Adrenaline was pumping through my whole body and my teammates were high-fiving me and patting me on the back. I had hit an inside the park home run!
Our team played great the rest of the game and we won six to three. We ended up losing our second game which was a shame, but we had a pretty good day. We went one and one and ranked 4th seed. Tomorrow is the official tournament bracket day, and if we lose a game, we’re eliminated. Hopefully we’ll have a good day tomorrow and possibly win the championship!
April 26, 2014
A Poem That Inspires Me
Things Work Out
By: Edgar Albert Guest
Because it rains when we wish it wouldn’t,
Because men do what they often shouldn’t,
Because crops fail, and plans go wrong-
Some of us grumble all day long.
But somehow, in spite of the care and doubt,
It seems at last that things work out.
Because we lose where we hoped to gain,
Because we suffer a little pain,
Because we must work when we’d like to play-
Some of us whimper along life’s way.
But somehow, as day always follows the night,
Most of our troubles work out all right.
Because we cannot forever smile,
Because we must trudge in the dust awhile,
Because we think that the way is long-
Some of us whimper that life’s all wrong.
But somehow we live and our sky grows bright,
And everything seems to work out all right.
So bend to your trouble and meet your care,
For the clouds must break, and the sky grow fair.
Let the rain come down, as it must and will,
But keep on working and hoping still.
For in spite of the grumblers who stand about,
Somehow, it seems, all things work out.
The poem: “Things Work Out”, by Edgar Albert Guest, caught my eye the very first time I read it. It reminds me that whatever situation I’m in, things will always work out. I always seem to be in situations when I think nothing will go right, but when that happens, I think back to this poem and remind myself that everything will be okay. I hope that I can live by this poem everyday because I think that it will make me a happier person. I believe that positive energy is contagious, and that if I am in a good mood, it will make other people in a good mood too. I think that if more people lived by this poem, the world would be a better place.
April 10, 2014
Challenge Weeks Four and Five: Media and a Memory
When I was little, I just couldn’t do without my walker. I’ve been told that ever since I was born I was always on the go. As soon as I could pull myself up onto the walker, I’d push it around the house for hours! I definitely wouldn’t of made it through the first years of my childhood without my trusty walker.
As I woke up each morning, the first thing that I would look for was my walker. It was very colorful and had a lot of awesome activities you could play with on the front of it. You could spin spinners, ring bells, open flaps, and much more! This walker wasn’t the “boring” type of walker that you sit in. It was the one that you controlled! To get around, all that you had to do was push it forward, or, in my case, ram it forward because I was always running.
One sad day, one of the wheels on my walker popped off because I had been using it so much. I was devastated at the sight and didn’t know what to do with myself. My mom felt so sorry for me, that she loaded me up in the car and drove straight to Toys R Us. Luckily, there was a brand new walker identical to the one that was broken. I was so excited, I ran to the walker and started running around the store with it. I was so happy to have my favorite toy back!
All throughout my childhood I needed an activity to keep me occupied, and this walker really did the job! I truly felt unstoppable in it! There are a countless number of videos and pictures of me in it, and I love going back in the past and reliving how awesome it was to have such a great toy!
Photo Credit: http://www.toysrus.com/graphics/product_images/pTRU1-13288585v150.jpg
March 27, 2014
Week 3: Five Useful Apps
Apps! What would we do without them. They help me with my everyday life and allow me to relax. Here are my top five favorite apps:
1. NFL Mobile: NFL Mobile is the greatest sports app ever invented! It lets you search for any one of the thirty two NFL football teams and watch highlights of their games, all of the latest news about the team, and many other awesome features. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been in that app. I’m always looking at the latest news and watching highlights from all of their games — especially the Philadelphia Eagles. In my opinion, anybody can use this app. It is a free app in the app store and you can either sign up through NFL Mobile, or use the app without logging in. If you’re a big fan of football, you haven’t lived until you’ve tried this app.
2. Instagram: The ultimate app for keeping up on your friends’ lives. Instagram is an app designed specifically for sharing photos and videos of interesting things and things you do for fun. A reason why I like Instagram is that I can keep up with my friends that I left in Philadelphia. I’ve lived in Austin, Texas for five years now and I still get to see all of the pictures that they post. I also like Instagram because I can search for and follow a professional athlete — for example Peyton Manning — and get to look at all of the cool things that he has been posting. You have to be twelve years old to use Instagram and you have to sign up by creating a username and a password. With Instagram, I am instantly connected to my friends, family, and athletes’ lives with the tap of a finger.
3. AppZilla 4: This is probably on of the most useful apps that you’ll ever see! In AppZilla 4, there are 200 different mini apps in one! There are all sorts of different kinds of categories. For example: There’s a games category, a entertainment category, a photos and video category and much more! I really like this app because there are so many different awesome things to do on it. It’s really fun to play the games, mess around with the cool different kinds of cameras, and check out all of the great apps! This app costs one dollar in the app store and anyone can use it. What a bargain: 200 apps for $1! With all the possibilities that AppZilla 4 has, it is a must buy app!
4. Clear Day: I know this might be weird, but when I think about what apps that I use most often, this weather app instantly comes to mind. I really like this app because you can simply input a place where you’d like to see the weather, and it’s there in less than a second. It really comes in handy because when I’m getting ready to go to baseball for example, I will know what to wear and if the practice is probably going to get rained out and canceled. Another cool feature of this app is that it shows you almost anything that you want to know about the weather. It shows you the high and low temperatures for that day, the chance of precipitation, the humidity, and a visual of what that day might look like for the background. This app costs three dollars and anyone can use it. In my opinion, it is definitely worth it!
5.Stickman Golf 2: This is definitely the best game in the app store! There are over 30 different courses to play in this exciting game of miniature golf. The objective of the game is to hit a golfball into a hole, while using different power-ups, hats, and skins for your character. You can also challenge your friends on either race mode or turn based mode. Race mode is where up to eight people try to make the ball into the hole first, and whoever gets it in faster, gets more points and whoever ends up with the most points win. Turn Based Mode is where you take turns playing a specific course while you try to get as low a score as you can. Whoever gets the lowest score in this mode wins. I really enjoy Super Stickman Golf 2 because it’s a great thing to do when your: bored, finish your homework early, and just want to have some fun. This app costs $1 and anybody can play it. I definitely recommend it!
All of these apps are really fun and useful! I think that if you try out some of these apps, it will change your whole perspective on any tablet, phone, or other device.
March 22, 2014
Challenge Week 2: Sno-Beach
It’s over 100 degrees in the middle of the blazing hot Austin, Texas weather, and your body feels like it’s melting. Where to go? That’s a no brainer, Sno-Beach! It is one of my favorite places to go in Austin.
One reason why Sno-Beach is an awesome place to go is because of its sensational tastes. There are over 50 different mouth watering flavors to choose from to create your own personal snow cone — all of them with an amazing taste. I would even eat at Sno-Beach if it was below freezing, all because of the absolutely great taste. It’s amazing to listen to peoples’ orders while you’re waiting in line: they come up with the most bizarre choices of flavors to merge together to make snow cone. I’ve even heard someone say that they would like a pomegranate mixed with coffee snow cone! But that’s the beauty of it! You can make whatever combination that you want! Sno Beach’s flavors are the best!
Another reason why I like Sno-Beach is the overall experience. I love sitting down at a picnic table shaded by a Coca-Cola umbrella and hanging out with my friends. When I go to Sno-Beach, I’m usually with three or four friends and we all have a great time as we watch the line gradually get bigger and bigger and bigger until it’s wrapped around the whole trailer! It’s also fun to see who can eat their snow cone the fastest. As a snow cone lover, I have won all of the contests that my friends and I have held and the aftereffect is not pretty. Every time that I do this I get a huge brain freeze! Even though I know what’s going to happen beforehand, I still gobble down the snow cone as fast as I can because of my competitive nature. Sno-Beach gives you an experience of a lifetime.
If you’re looking for an exciting, tasty, and enjoyable experience, — which most people are — you definitely should go to Sno-Beach. It is one of my favorite places to go in Austin.
March 7, 2014
The Dark Lair of the Phantom
Come into my lair, oh please come in. Don’t mind the gnawers, the stack of bones, or that pile of blood in the the corner, it’s all temporary. Come sit down, no need to whisper, we’re already three miles below the opera house. No one else is down here: just you and me.
I’m sure that you’re a little bit frightened of what you see down here, don’t worry, you’ll get used to it. In fact, I bet that you will start to like it, that is if you follow in my footsteps. Did you just say that you’re thirsty, just go get a drink from the lake, it may taste a little bit funny, but I think that you’ll find it rather “enjoyable”.
Did you just say that you wanted to go back up to the opera house, why would you think such a thing when you could spend eternity with me. See, even the rats want you to stay. I know what will be convincing enough to make you stay for sure. Follow me on a short hike through the many passage ways that we’ll be traveling through. Stay close, or you might get lost, and if you get lost, it might not turn out as you want it to. Don’t even think about trying to run away, I’ve got this place filled with traps that will keep you right where I want you.
Ah, we’re here in the most beloved place in my whole lair: the dungeon of despair. Isn’t it just great? With its paintings of death, rusty cell doors, and best of all, my sacred pile of rotten bones. Just for your information, I got the bones from everybody who disobeyed my commands, and I’m sure that you won’t do that.
I hope that this has got you to make your mind up about the life changing decision that you’re about to make. Are you going to spend eternity with me , or give away your most precious gift: life.
Photo Credit: i k o via Compfight
February 22, 2014
Roller Coasters
Roller Coasters are by far the best thing that’s ever happened to this world! They’re fun, exhilarating, and outright amazing!
My favorite thing about amusement parks is the roller coasters. As I wait in the usual 30 to 40 minute line, anxiety starts building up in me because I’m so eager to get on the coaster. As the line moves up, I feel more and more suspense, and I can’t wait for it to be my turn to feel the glory of plunging down a steep slope as the wind pushes against my face. Finally, it’s my turn! As I step into my seat, my whole body gets tight and I start to think over of what I’m about to do. And right when I think that I might tell a park attendant that I’ll pass on going, I feel a rumble of the tracks below me and the coaster is off!
As the coaster sets off on a journey through steep drops, twists, turns, and loops, I’m getting pumped up and am ready to go! The coaster reaches the top of the hill, slowly makes an arch as it’s about to plunge downward, and bam! It’s off and I can hardly see anything because of how fast the coaster is going. It feels like I’m going 100,000 miles an hour even though I’m going about 80. As the coaster makes it’s last twist, it heads back to the station, and all that’s left is a coaster full of stunned faces.
I think that roller coasters are great and hope to get to ride on as many as I can! Do you like riding roller coasters?
February 15, 2014
Expository Writing: Football is Awesome
When I play football, everything around me goes in a blur, and all that I’m focused on is destroying my opponent. Football is awesome!
One reason why football is awesome is because you get to hit people without getting in trouble. In fact, you’re supposed to hit people on the other team which makes it even better! On my first game of the 2013 middle school football season, I had 10 tackles, almost all of them being on bigger and heavier players than me, This shows that size doesn’t matter in football, even if you’re tackling a 150 pound receiver and you’re only 90 pounds. It’s all about the form. Right when the receiver, running back, or quarterback got the ball and passed the line of scrimmage, I’d charge right at them and blow them up! Tackling people is amazing!
Another reason why football os the best is that you get to score touchdowns. Scoring a touchdown might just be the best thing that happened to me in my life — especially my first. I can’t even explain the feeling of crossing the pie line for the very first time. It’s like winning the lottery! As the ref puts his hands up in the position signaling that you’ve scored a touchdown, so much adrenaline is flowing through your body as you jog off to the sideline. While you’re making your way to the sideline, teammates and coaches are giving you high fives and chest bumps! The feeling is indescribable. Scoring touchdowns are exhilarating!
I love football almost as much as life, and I will always always love it and hope that I never have to give it up. My dream is to play in the NFL someday and I know that if I keep working at my goal, I will be successful. Football is the best!
February 8, 2014
Super Bowl Confusion
“Omaha, Omaha, hut, hut “. As Peyton Manning, a famous Denver Broncos quarterback leading the number one offense in the NFL against the number one defense in the NFL, confusion comes when the Broncos center, and Manning miscommunicate and the football goes flying out of the end zone for a safety.
On February 2, 2014, Super Bowl 48 occurred where the Denver Broncos played the Seattle Seahawks. Everybody thought that this was going to be a very close contested game because the Broncos are the number one offense in the NFL led by Peyton Manning and the Seahawks are the number one defense in the NFL led by Richard Sherman. On the very first snap of the game, things went wrong for the Broncos resulting in a safety, and right at that moment, I knew that the game was over.
Throughout the whole game, Seattle’s defense dominated in every aspect of the game; physically, mentally, and emotionally.
By the end of the game, the Broncos turned the ball over four times, and one of those times being a pick-six from Malcolm Smith, who got the Super Bowl MVP after the game.
Even though there was a lot of miscommunication and confusion in this Super Bowl, there were lots of memorable moments and who knows, maybe the Broncos will get another chance next year because of Hall of Famer, Peyton Manning.