Freshman Year-Complete

It’s hard to believe that we are already wrapping up the 2010-2011 school year. It truly has been a remarkable year for me individually and also I think overall for everything. It seems not too long ago that I was showing the new students around the school, and all of a sudden the only thing on my mind is finals and summer. This year has been quite different from previous school years for countless reasons. This includes, but is not limited to:

High School

This is my first year as a high school student. So much is different in comparison to middle school. In high school, there is obviously much, much more responsibility. I’ve learned that organization, dedication, and focus are all keys that determine how well you perform. It is the student’s responsibility for homework, tests, and projects. Ninth grade was a lot of fun, but I’m looking forward to the future as I will be older and wiser. Plus, I never liked being the youngest… I hope there isn’t a lot of freshman hazing in college.

Rains/Floods

This year was something happened that I’ve never experienced before. All of our classes in December were cancelled due to torrential rains within the Venezuelan state of Miranda. At first, I, along with the other students, couldn’t have been happier. This all changed when we ended up getting countless worksheets, projects, and other assignments. Teacher’s wikis became very popular on my computer. To make matters worse, the work did not count, and we still had to spend more time at school.

VANAS/CAISSA

Now that I’m a freshman, I’m able to travel a bit more for athletic teams. As I was on the basketball and softball team, I was able to go to tournaments within Venezuela (VANAS) but also internationally in a tournament called CAISSA. I’m glad I was able to experience this for the first time, even though this was my 2^nd year playing Varsity basketball. For CAISSA basketball, I traveled to Trinidad, where teams from Venezuela, Trinidad, Ecuador, and the Dominican Republic all represented their schools. Although this was a great experience for me, I was sick for the entire time. I didn’t want to miss the opportunity, so I decided to play through my stomach and respiratory issues along with a 103 degree fever. This was definitely the wrong idea as I missed a great amount of school afterwards.

I’m really looking towards 10^th grade. I didn’t do as well in 9^th grade as I could have, so my goal for 10^th grade is to not only make honors, but become a better person overall. I’m looking forward to the increased freedom along with making new friends and experiencing new things. I don’t really know what to expect for next year, because as they say, life’s a journey. 

Health & Nutrition

Dwight Howard, my fitness idol.

One thing that everyone needs in order to live well physically, mentally, and spiritually is nutrition. I personally believe that this topic is a must-have in one’s life. During middle school, I didn’t care about my health. I ate what I wanted, did what I wanted and had very little care for going to the gym to burn fat and gain muscle. Coming into high school, I knew that my methods regarding this area would have to change for multiple reasons: as a growing teenager, our health will affect us for the rest of our life as we mature and stop growing. For me personally, I feel as though in order to perform at a top level athletically, I will need to fuel myself with food that has great nutritional values, along with making sure I am physically able to perform. This also goes with academics; countless studies have shown that when you have an active lifestyle (i.e. outside often, sports) you perform much better in the classroom, regardless of the subject. I have had the chance to experience this first-hand. In the past, I have felt tired, drowsy, and unable to interact in a class. The result of this was lower grades in classes that I knew I could do much better in. Because of this I have taken a complete 180 degree turn in my health in nutrition. I try to go to the gym at least 4-5 times a week, and it has definitely paid off. I’m glad I made this life choice, for short AND long term reasons.

NBA Playoffs/Finals 2011

Well, it’s hard to believe that the NBA season is coming to a close. It seems as though just yesterday LeBron was having his hour-long TV program about who he was going to pick for his new team. I personally didn’t watch a lot of basketball this year, mainly because my team, The Golden State Warriors, are rarely televised in Venezuela. I watched a lot of Miami Heat basketball, along with the Boston Celtics and Houston Rockets. I must say it was a very interesting playoffs; the Spurs, a team that is known winning 60 games a season, were knocked off by the Grizzlies, a team that have never won a playoff game. The games were also very physical and cheap, players pushing each other and not acting like the role models they are, whether they like it or not. Lots of players were ejected, resulting in boos from the fans. Even though this wasn’t a “clean” playoff year, it was still fun to watch because you could see how driven and passionate these professionals were. Now, we have two teams left for the NBA championship: The Dallas Mavericks, a quiet team that are still managing to win 50-60 games a year. The other team is the Miami Heat, the powerhouse team of the east that is hated on by just about every single NBA fan. Miami, equipped with versatile wings Dwayne Wade & LeBron James, team up with center Chris Bosh to make an unstoppable trio. Although there are times when these 3 are unable to perform at an elite level, they are still able to pull out and get clutch victories. I predict the powerful Heat to win the series in 4 games; they are too good of a team to blow something like this away. Although this will be a huge, unneeded ego boost for LeBron, I feel as though he deserves it. Below are a few examples of the rough play that have made this year's playoffs infamous.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GsMprVOQToM
The above video is Andrew Bynum, the Center for the Los Angeles Lakers, committing a cheap foul on JJ Barea, Point Guard for Dallas (one of the smallest players in the league). Dallas is leading the game by 32 points (the Lakers were also facing elimination), and 3 players have already been ejected for being unsportsmanlike. As Barea goes up for the layup, Bynum  shoves him in midair and Barea is slammed to the ground. This is a bad example for aspiring amateurs, and the NBA should take action and suspend him.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kyh7NB2pVyY
Here, we have Jason Richardson, an average sized player for the Orlando Magic, standing up for his teammate after he was fouled hard against Zaza Pachulia. Both Richardson & Pachulia are known for their impertinent, arrogant conduct on the court. Richardson takes this altercation to the next level as he shoves Pachulia in the face. Both of these players were suspended for the following game.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xfCMqT05No8
On this play, the Miami Heat are taking on the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference Semi Finals. Both of these teams are equipped with superstars and they are both very aggressive. Dwayne Wade of the Miami Heat is being guarded by Rajon Rondo of the Boston Celtics. Wade loses the ball, and trips onto Rondo. This could be the end of the clip, but Wade keeps pushing on Rondo even after the whistle is blown to end the play. He loses his balance (in my opinion, intentionally) and falls on Rondo, where Rondo awkwardly lands on  his arm. Rondo dislocated his elbow but came back to finish the game. Not only does this show heroism and dedication by Rajon Rondo, but also disgusting, coy play by Dwayne Wade. He was not disciplined by the NBA.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JymBxLpZ_bE&feature=related
This video once again contains Jason Richardson. Richardson, alongside Carmelo Anthony of the New York Knicks, are scuffling for a loose ball. After Orlando gets the ball and takes it on a fast-break play, Anthony and Richardson are tangled up. As Richardson stands up, Anthony trips him. This then happens again, except Richardson tripped Anthony.