4.30.14: T.O.D.

            As I sit here at my laptop typing my fourth paper of the week, inspiration struck and something kind of rose inside of me…so, naturally, I figured that I’d share it.

            I’m hoping that maybe this little quote can help some of you guys in your hard times/when you’re taking your finals (can you tell it’s almost finals week for me?!).

Obviously because I came up with it, it’s tailored towards me but I hope that you guys are able to implement it in your own lives as well.

“I am a division one athlete. I am an honor roll student. I am independent and proud of it. I pride myself on my positive attitudes, looks, and efforts. I have been through more trials and challenges in my 20 years than most adults who have seen 40 years. I am a well-rounded, mature individual who has realized who she is and who she wants to be. I recognize that hard work, dedication, and drive are all needed to accomplish any and all tasks efficiently and well. There is no reason for me not be confident in every aspect of my life. I am enough. What I do is enough. If I miss something or I mess something up, it’s okay. I’m okay. I’m still enough. And because I’m confident, because I am enough, I deserve the best…only the best. The best is what I exude and what I work for every single day. But I also have to keep in mind that my best may be different from someone else’s best and no matter what, at the end of the day, I did what I was capable of and I did it well.”

I want you all to keep in mind, especially going into finals, that you are all enough. Prepare accordingly, prepare well, and I’m sure none of you will be disappointed. And if you get bad marks? You did your best. You prepared well and accordingly, the test was just really difficult. I promise that you’ll get the next one. Just don’t give up good habits or get discouraged because of a bad grade.

4.24.14: Covering the Mets

The other day I covered a Mets game and it was probably one of the best experiences of my life. Below is my press pass and my game story.

Mets vs. Cardinals

[FLUSHING, NY] April 22—After the Cardinals (11-9) were shut out by the Mets (10-10) on Monday night, they got their revenge last night when they returned the favor, winning 3-0.

Wainwright (4-1), who pitched for seven innings, left the game at the bottom of the seventh with a hyper-extended knee. He injured himself trying to get to first base to cover the bag on a routine play.

If you look at past statistics, it seems like Wainwright was never able to put up good numbers against the Mets but last night, he was able to break his streak. Wainwright’s seven shut out innings last night extends his scoreless-innings streak to 25.

Wainwright only allowed four hits and didn’t walk any. The win over the Mets marked Wainwright’s third career win over Dillon Gee (1-1). Gee had six hits and two walks.

The two pitchers put up zeroes for the first three innings, but in the fourth, the Cardinals were able to get on the board. Centerfielder Jon Jay hit a two-run single scoring one, which catapulted the Cardinals to their 3-0 win over the Mets.

“I think Dillon pitched very well; I thought Germen came in and did a nice job; we just couldn’t stop the offense,” said Mets’ manager Terry Collins.

Each team had three pitchers take turns at the mound last night. For the Cardinals, Wainwright carried St. Louis to the late innings, then Kevin Siegrist and Trevor Rosenthal stepped up to close it out.  For the Mets Gee started the game and went six innings then Gonzalez Germen, and Jose Valverde pitched the final innings. Gee gave up two runs, while Valverde gave up one.

“You know, I don’t know…After the first walk, (Valverde) had some real good pitches. He pitched to Holliday, his pitch was just to the outside of the plate. I thought he threw the ball well. He’s trying to use his split more than he has recently and I think that’ll make a difference. You know, I told him ‘you gotta do something else.’”

While on the topic of left fielder Matt Holliday, the outfielder robbed Mets’ Chris Young from a then game-tying home run in the fifth inning. Holliday leaped and reached over the fence to pull the back into the park, taking away the only momentum the Mets’ mustered.

“It was just some-what of a bad inning; we couldn’t score. We need to get more hits; we had nine last night and that was good enough,” said Collins. The Mets had four 1-2-3 innings.

“We got to get some guys on and as I said last night, singles count. We got to get some guys in scoring positions and get base hits, score runs. Today, we didn’t get anybody; we got to have some guys get to second base but we didn’t come through. We just got to keep swinging.”

The Cardinals’ snapped the Mets’ pitchers impressive scoreless streak at 20 innings. Gee had 10 of those innings to himself.

The final scorecard for the Cardinals was 3 runs, 10 hits, and no errors. The Mets ended the game with no runs, 4 hits, and 1 error.

The Mets return to action at 7:10 P.M. tonight at Citi Field for the Cardinals, the expected starters are E. Young, Granderson, Wright, Murphy, C. Young, Duda, d’Arnaud, Quintanilla, and Niese.

As soon as I get a break in my work, you'll all be getting a fictional story, don't you worry.
For right now, if any of you have the ends of your semesters approaching, I wish you all the best of luck!

4.21.14: Drowning

This post is basically me bitching in metaphors and similes about my workload...all I'm saying is that this blog post is completely justified. 

            Her head was just above water. She could breathe, but it was the ugly, sputtering kind of breath. She was grasping for air. It was right there. She was so close…and then she was pulled under.

            While she was under, the outside world saw tears. They saw tears and short fuses and frantic calls home to mom. She was trying so hard to excel, for she was a smart and punctual girl, but it was never good enough.

            The demands were higher, the expectations were higher; the results were lower. What was she doing wrong? How could she be constantly swimming but constantly drowning with each stroke forward? Her body was strong—it was strong enough to pull her towards the shore but she found that each time she tried to get closer, the currant pulled her further and further away.

            She needed help, she’d scream, but all that came out was that ugly sputtering. Every now and then, a wave would crash over her and she’d go under. She’d flail her arms frantically; Her hair would get into her eyes and she’d lose sight of the shore.

But each time, she decided that she wouldn’t give up. She’d push her ocean-soaked hair out of her eyes and try to refocus her tired body back on the shoreline. “Just keep going, keep swimming, whatever it takes,” she’d tell herself.

Every now and then, someone would throw her a life raft and she’d catch it. It’d take her a little ways before the rope would snap…and then the entire process would start over again. She’d gotten used to it.

“Just keep going, keep swimming, whatever it takes,” she’d tell herself. 

4.11.14: Power

The other day someone yelled at me and it was clearly their fault...so it got me thinking...and then this post happened:

Power: the capacity or ability to direct or influence the behavior of others or the course of events. What allows people their entitlement to power? Was it given readily or self-proclaimed? If it's given, why? Did they earn it? If it's self-entitled, why? Are they insecure? The world today, mostly America, deals with a lot of people who enjoy power.
The conflict theory: those in power want to keep their power so they keep those underneath them beneath them at all costs. Does power influence people positively, negatively, or equally? Is it situational?
I feel like there are too many people in the world who use their power negatively.


P.s.: "train talks" and birthday post are pending

4.3.14: Commute

He’d call her every morning to wake her up and to make sure that she wasn’t late. She’d always pick up, but never before the third ring. They’d get ready for their days, sometimes together and sometimes separately, and they’d go to the train station. They’d split the parking garage fee, and then the train ticket that followed, and they’d always switch who bought coffee on which day.

            He’d always get the window seat because she preferred to rest her head on his chest. The swaying train would ease her back to sleep until they got to their final destination. He’d kiss her head and play with her hair and every once in a while, he’d whisper how much he loved her just loud enough for only her to hear. She already knew but he liked to remind her anyway.

            When they finally reached where they needed to be for the day, they’d get off the train together. They’d hold hands until they reached the outside world, where they’d have to part ways until the ends of their days and the train ride home.