Election Day is here already

Election Day is getting closer and closer. I am registered to vote, but back in my hometown, which is 80 miles away so I do not think that I will be going back there to vote on a Tuesday. At the same time, I am not even sure if I am ready to choose one of the candidates to be the next president. From what I have heard, I think that Obama might be my choice. But I have not been giving this election my full attention. I have heard some of the things that have been happening and they registered with me, but I have not sat down, looked at what both candidates are saying that they will do, and decided with which one I agree. This makes me feel that if I did vote that I would be making a mistake because it would be an uneducated vote. Especially now, with all that is happening in the world and within this country, I think that we need to make sure that we make the right choice. Right now America is in a hole, and if we do not make the right choice it is just going to get deeper. I am not sure if anyone else is where I am at, but I feel like I need to start paying more attention to politics now. When I was in high school voting seemed like a pretty distant thing, but now it is here, and I need to buckle down and do what I need to do to make sure that I can vote in this next election, and that my vote is what I believe to be the right choice.

Political Story

It was a cold November morning. Many people were still asleep, but I was awake. I could not wait for the opening of the polls to vote. I was sure that my vote would matter in this election, but one of my close friends told me that his vote did not matter. No matter how hard I tried to convince that it did, he just did not believe that his vote would matter. I was determined to vote and prove him wrong. I heard some sounds outside. When I looked it was the metropolitan bus and there were people on it. I went outside to see why the bus had stopped in my neighborhood. The driver told me that he was heading to the polls. I was confused until I realized that he meant the voting polls. He asked if I was going to come. I got on the bus and took a seat and we were on our way. Along the way we passed many houses and buildings and saw stray dogs and cats run away from the bus as we moved onwards. We finally saw the police department, which was where the voting polls were held. When the bus finally arrived I saw that there was no real line, that everyone was kind of crowded around the entrance of the fire department I got to the front to see if something had happened just to discover that the door was still locked and the polls were not meant to open for another five minutes. I asked the person next to me “Why is there no line?” She replied “The poll master will choose someone to cast the first vote and everyone will get to go after that.” The time finally came and the poll master came out and looked at us. “You” she said, indicating that I would get the first vote. Everyone was silent as I made my way up to the station. I went in without a word and punched out my choices without a second thought. When I exited everyone cheered and then they proceeded to the stations to cast their ballots. I went to work after that feeling very happy that I had voted. When I finally got home I was exhausted. I turned on the television just to see how the election was going. I was shocked to learn that neither candidate had reached the 270 mark needed to win, and that the vote was going to congress to decide who won the race. They explained that late in the race, McCain won California by one district because the one that would have tied up the election was tied, and was split between the two candidates. When I thought back about my vote, I realized that I had not punched the Chad on my ticket all the way out, and I wondered if my vote had caused all this because I hurried and did not check my ticket before I placed it in. As I was worrying, a special bulletin popped up. It said that there had been a miscount. That one ticket had been misplaced, and that the vote actually had Obama ahead by one, which meant that it was a tie for California, and that pushed Obama over the 270 mark. Though I never could convince my friend that it was my ticket that helped Obama win the election, I knew that it did and that is all that mattered.

College Week 3

In my third week at USF I have started to get a little more adjusted to living on campus. I have gotten used to the hours that I need to devote to work and free-time. I have also learned where all my classes are and what times they are at. I know my way around most of the campus although there are some parts that I have not been able to get to. However, one thing that I am going to have to readjust myself to is the workload. It was hard for me coming back from the summer because I did not do anything that involved school at all, but the first two weeks were not terrible. I managed to get my assignments done. But when I looked at the schedule for this week I saw a significant change in the workload. Now I have three writing assignments due, numerous chapters in different books to read, and weekly assignments that have to be taken care of on top of all of these new things to do. I knew that college was going to get tougher but I was hoping that it was going to be a little later in my college career, maybe a semester or two. The only thing that is good is that I have started to adjust to living on the campus, and that hopefully being adjusted to college life will help get used to college work.

Memoir Rough Draft

My very first day ever of football pads was one of the scariest days of my life. So much was happening that I was afraid of. I was new to football and I did not have a clue what was happening around me. The only thing I was concerned with was surviving that day and making sure that I did not get hurt. The main events that impacted that whole day were when I was walking out to the field, when we read the warning label on the helmet, the hitting and tackling drills, and the running that we had to do after that.
The first thing that I experienced that day was the walk out to the practice field. It was cloudy day. As I was walking out the only thing that I could hear was everyone else talking about how glad they were to be back in pads. I, however, did not even know exactly how to even put the pads in the correct places. I did the best I could and kept walking out there. When I got to the gate, one of the seniors asked me if was nervous. I told him I was and asked him if I had managed to put my pads in right. I had only put one knee pad in upside down, which the only difference that makes is that the logo is pointed down instead of up. The senior told me that I just had to make sure that I went full speed and that I would be fine.
The next event was a mandatory part of high school football, where the coaches have us read the warning sticker on our helmets so that we aware of the dangers that come with playing a high contact sport. The label said that it is illegal to spear, butt, or lead with the helmet when playing football and that doing so can result in injury to the hitter or to the person being hit. The helmet also said that playing football can still result in these injuries accidently, and that no helmet can prevent these injuries from happening. This stuck with me because when I first got my helmet I had not thought about what would happen when I was playing, I just thought that it was cool and made sure that it fit me right. But when we started to read that helmet warning label out loud, I realized that I could get hurt playing this sport. I thought that the chances of me getting hurt were probably double since I had never played before and I was surrounded by kids who had all at least played organized football before. My mind started to race and I was thinking of what might happen to me. Whether I became paralyzed because I had jammed or even broken one of bones in my back or neck, or I might suffer a concussion and not know what was happening around me. After we had finished reading the label, I decided that I could not just walk off the field, and that the only thing that I can do is to try and make sure that I did not get myself hurt.
The next thing that happened was Coach Steele yelled out “Hitting Drills” and started giving out instructions to the coaches on what drills to run, and split players up and sent them to one drill. The linemen, which was my group, first got the angle tackle drill, which when you do not know what other drills there are, you think is terrible. The angle drill is where one player carries the ball, and the other is a tackler, you both run full speed to whichever side the coach tells you to, and you either try to tackle someone or run through someone. Some of the biggest kids on our team went first and when I heard them hit each other, I became scared for myself. I managed to hang back on the tackling side but I had to run the ball once, and when the tackler was coming at me, I remembered what the helmet said about lowering your head, which was my first instinct after I had seen so many others do so, and stood straight up. I got tackled pretty hard but I walked back to the line and just waited. Then the whistle blew, and everyone ran to the next drill which was where you lift someone up and carry them ten yards back.
In this drill there was no hiding, everyone got a partner and I was unfortunate enough to get a kid who was a good 3 inches taller than me and about 100 pounds heavier. He went first and I was no problem for him. Then it was my turn. I managed to pick him up, but I dropped him short. When he realized the trouble that I was having he tried to help me out by jumping up on my back a little bit and walking backwards. I was thankful because this saved from the wrath of a coach accusing me of a lack of effort. After 2 minutes of that it was time for another drill, however, during the transition some players slowed down before they reached the next drill, so Coach Steele made everyone go back to the previous drill and start over again. I was lucky that Justin Virtue, my original partner, was my partner again and he helped me through again. The next time the whistle was blown, everyone sprinted to the next drill because no one wanted to experience the same drill over and over again.
The next drill was a very uneventful one in that all you had to do was tackle a pad over and over again. When the time finally came to switch, everybody made sure to sprint because the memory of the last time was still fresh in their heads. I could see the next drill and I did not like the look of it. All I could see was everyone in a circle, and I could hear the clash of pads again. I finally got to the last drill which brought more dread then relief. The whole team would be together, except for quarterbacks and kickers, would be together for this drill and some people were excited for it. It was called the hamburger drill. In it there is a running back, an offensive lineman, a defensive lineman, and a linebacker. The point of this is for the offense to score and the defense to stop them. The reason why I feared it so much was not because of the hitting but about my lack of knowledge of where I go. I did not have a clue where I would have to line up if got forced in there.
I was hoping to just lie back in this drill as well, but that was not going to happen. After a couple of runs, the older defensive lineman, who had been going, were tired and did not want to go. One of the other linemen told me to get in there. Rather than try to argue with him and have the team run because I did not want to embarrass myself, I went in there. I was lined up against Justin again. As I was getting closer, I managed to ask him where I went and he told me “Line up right in front of me.” So I did just that. The coach in charge said “Ready” and I tensed up. Then he blew the whistle and I did my best. I got blocked but I felt relieved because no one was laughing at me and I had not got hurt. I jumped out of there and waited. It was looking like I would have to go back in but the coaches ended the drill and gave us a water break.
On the sideline, I found my friend Josh and he asked me if had hit anyone. I told him had but did not tell him that it was not because I had tackled them, which is what he wanted to know. After a little break Coach Steele called for a look defense. I had no idea what this meant but I was lucky because the starters ran out there. After about ten minutes, the senior who asked me if was nervous asked why I had not been in. I told him that I did not think that I was allowed in there. He told me to go ask Coach Hyer, who was the coach of the defensive line. He told me that I could and put me in at defensive line. When I lined up in my position, I started to think about what might happen, but then I tried to forget about it, and just concentrated on the play. On the first and second plays nothing happened. On the third play the play was a run to my side. When I saw the running back go out past me I started to pursue him. One of the defensive backs hit him and a linebacker was starting to tackle him when I go there but I did not care at that point. Making sure to keep my head clear of all of the bodies I ran into the pile and helped bring the running back down.
I got out after that play. I was really excited because tackling him was exciting and I had found my love for football. The whole day I had wondered why I was out there when I was so afraid to do anything, but on that one play I found out why. I would eventually conquer my fear of getting hurt and start to use my head more and started to get more and more scratches on my helmet, which was a matter of pride for the linemen at least. The number of cuts, different color paints, and size and deepness of these cuts all testified to how hard you played. When you are a linemen, usually one of the first thing to hit the opposing player is your helmet, and usually the hardest hitters had the most, so everyone respected you if you had a lot of these cuts.
I am kind of glad that I got exposed to what scared me so early because if everything had started of fine, I might have quit later when things got really tough. But because I had to conquer these things to play the sport, I did not quit and was able to face even greater obstacles, and when the drills came around again, I participated in every one of them.

Us and Them Audio

Listening to the audio version of “Us and Them” did not change my attitude toward the author. I still think that the author sounded very arrogant and greedy. Also the person who was narrating still sounded greedy. Though he was a little kid and that he might not have known what he was doing, I still think that he should have a sense of what is right and wrong, and that stuffing yourself with candy that you might not even like just because you do not want to give them to someone else. I also still think that he sort of thought of them as inferior beings, and that he should pity. He also views them as his own personal TV show. The only thing that seemed different is the end. The way it comes out on the audio version makes it seem as though the author is blaming TV for his lack of care for the Tomkeys. The author talks about how if the only image he would have to see was the one of himself stuffing candy down his mouth, he might have had to look at himself. But fortunately for him there was the television and the shows that came on it.

In “This is Emo” the author appeals to the reader by using references to pop culture. He uses movies of the 80’s and the band Coldplay as examples of why people look for fake love. The author made it real by using these examples. He also made it real through the use of words that usually are not found in essays into it to put more emphasis on the point that he was making. He believes that the reason why he could not find love was because of these movies and this band. I do not agree with him though. While some people believe that movies are true and that you can have endings like they come in the movies, most people know that the stories are not true. Movies are made to appeal to people. This means that they usually say or do whatever it is that brings in people to pay for the ticket and watch the movie. The author compares his love life to these movies because he says that the woman he dated compared him to those movies.

"Us and Them" memoir

The memoir “Us and Them” is the memory of a little boy who recalls a family that he thought was strange because he hears that they do not have a television. When I started to read this memoir I thought that this kid was pretty nosy. He was spying on these people just because he heard someone tell his mom. Then, after he found out that they actually do not have a television I thought that he was a very self-centered person. I thought this because he says in the story that he would pity them. The little boy also wonders what it must be like to be so “lonely and ignorant” when he tries to view the world through their eyes. He instantly assumes that they are ignorant because they are different and that their family does not own a television. Also, the boy says that they needed someone to show them how kids are supposed to act, at least how they are supposed to act in his eyes, but then says that he could not because this would take away from the “mystery and the god feeling I got from pitying them.” This also shows that the boy is fairly self-centered because rather than help these kids that he views as so strange he would rather watch them be strange. Also at the end of the story, the boy refuses to give up his candy, and would rather get sick from eating the chocolate than give to the Tomkey kids. The only excuse that the author may have is that the memoir is from when he was a kid, and when you are a kid you do not always do actions that make you proud of yourself as an adult, but you learn from these mistakes and they shape you into the person that you become.

First Week of Classes

What I liked about the first week of classes was how I got long breaks between all of my classes. On Mondays I didn’t have to wake up until 9:00 a.m. and I could take my time getting to my classes. Not like in my high school where if you woke up after seven you were going to be late. I also liked meeting new people in my classes because I did not know too many people up here. I did not like finding out about how much writing I was going to have to do because writing is not something I like to do. I also hated any class I had in the lecture hall because all the classes I have are around 12:00, when it starts to get hot outside, and if you do not get to the lecture hall early you will not get a seat but if you get there too early you end up standing outside while the class before yours finishes up. Also, the classes are pretty boring so I start to fall asleep halfway through them. Another thing that I did not like was having to wake up so early on Friday because my class was at 7:30. By Friday I was just flat out tired of all the new classes and adjusting to my college life that it was almost impossible for me to wake up. I managed to do it but I was tired and not enthusiastic for anything and could not force myself to talk for the class discussion. But over all I would say that it was a pretty good first week of classes.