Is Bigger Better?

“Living (and Dying) Large” by Ali Bizzul is all about football players and their weight gain. Many players are trying to gain weight in attempts to be more desirable to future coaches. While this seems smart, it is actually very dangerous. Players who are obese and overweight have a greater likelihood of heatstroke, heart disease, and weakening of their cartilage. Even though coaches say that weight is not as important to them as skill, the players just aren’t getting the memo. This essay was an eye-opener to me for many reasons. For one, when people, myself included, think of athletes we picture fit individuals. More often than not, I never think of serious athletes as being obese. According to this essay, many football players—linebackers in particular—are in the overweight to obese levels of the BMI scale. For two, players often know about the health risks, and even the deaths, caused by obesity. It’s hard for me to fathom how an athlete can know about something that serious and not try to correct it or make any effort in prevention. In high school, I was a varsity basketball player until I was forced into retirement by a heart condition; if there was anything I could do to prevent getting that condition and save my basketball career I would do it in a heartbeat. Unfortunately, my condition wasn’t preventable nor was there any warning. These athletes have plenty of warning. They need to take advantage and protect their futures in athletics!

Welcome to Dreamland

My town is in a panic, a woman will be coming to our town. This woman is the most feared woman in America. She comes in and takes over towns within a week leaving missing children in her wake. My family (consisting of my parents, sister, and boyfriend) start preparing for the onslaught that will ensue. The woman will tempt us with what our hearts have desired our entire lives but it’s fake. Don’t fall for it! We go over this for hours every day, when finally one night, the woman’s stretch limo pulls into our driveway. She is trying to read our hearts, trying to find a way to brainwash us. We hide. She drives away, on to the next house. The next day, my boyfriend Ryan and I head to the supermarket and are met by a barrage of uniformed men; unnerved, we quickly walk past and see a cage full of puppies. The exact puppy we had seen and longed for just weeks earlier was hopping and playing in the little cage! It was part of the woman’s trick! If we stayed, she would brainwash us and we would surely disappear. I yanked Ryan away, trying to remind him what we had been learning but it wasn’t making sense to him. We kept walking down an aisle and ran into a group of Ryan’s friends. This would be the final trick that would entrap my boyfriend. He ran off with them to the woman’s camp. I ran home as quickly as I could and prepared my bag, informing my family of the tragedy. Ryan’s only chance for survival was if I could find and rescue him. I searched the countryside and eventually discovered a checkpoint by the men in uniform who would let you into a large shed. Apparently that day was visiting day and they let me in. I walked in cautiously, my eyes darting around the room searching for Ryan. I found him! He sat behind a table, offering raffle tickets to the crowd. I ran up to him and pulled him aside, talking a mile a minute trying to reach the old Ryan. I told him to meet me outside after the visiting assembly and we would escape. Then, my alarm went off; waking me up for my day. My heart racing, I climbed out of bed. What in the world had just happened?

Antigay Discrimination

After reading “The Legacy of Antigay Discrimination” by George Chauncey I just sat in shock for a few minutes. Personally, I feel no discrimination towards gays because what people do is their own business and I feel any kind of love is a beautiful thing. When I read this article it just made me sick at how the LGBT community was treated. I remember being taught, in great detail, about the Civil Rights Movement for African Americans and all of the horrible actions taken against them. Throughout all my years in my history classes, I cannot recall ever learning about the discrimination the LGBT community faced in the history and even today. Why should any racial or social group be considered more important than any other, especially when it comes to teaching students about the history of the United States. This makes me question what else our society has failed to inform us of. I am also infuriated that we continue to call ourselves members of a “free country” when it has clearly been anything but free for many of our citizens. My anger of reading this just will not subside. How can people have their rights stricken from them just because of who they choose to love, what color skin they have, or any other reason. In case the people of this country have forgotten, but the only reason we were founded was to escape religious persecution. The settlers themselves were escaping the situations that we have been putting other groups through. Wake up, America. This is insanity.  

Noah

This past Sunday, I was enjoying an evening with my boyfriend and his family watching TV when I got a phone call I never imagined I would get. My sixteen year old cousin was in an accident; there was bleeding in his brain, he was on oxygen, and they didn't know if he would make it. I was completely shocked. How could this be happening? Eager for more information, I anxiously awaited more phone calls. Throughout the evening and the next day, more details flooded in. Noah, my cousin, was being pulled behind a car on a skateboard at thirty miles an hour when he flew off and hit his head. He had always done stupid things, like the “cinnamon challenge”, but never anything as dangerous as this. As a result, he suffered from two skull fractures, a basilar bleed, and a frontal lobe contusion. Thankfully, despite what was originally thought, Noah was moved from the ICU this morning and will begin in-patient rehab soon. While my family can breathe easier knowing his life isn't at risk, the way he lives his life will definitely have to change. We have yet to find out how much damage there is to his personality, behaviors, fine motor skills, or language and articulation which can all be affected by such a serious head injury. Just in case those effects aren't enough, the sports that Noah has worked so hard in will most likely have to be put in the past. He will be a walking example of how one stupid decision in his teens can damage the rest of his life. 

Lights, Camera, Action

When people think about Hollywood, we think of glamor, fame, and fortune. Rarely ever is the first thing that comes to mind stunt-people. In the article "Danger Is Their Middle Name" by Chris Nashawaty, we are introduced to a family of stunt-people with roles that date back to the 1930s and as recent as Transformers. As I read about the Epper family and how they got started, I can't help but wonder what keeps them going. They have beautiful families that need them, yet they continue risking their lives and introducing it into their children's lives, for the sake of Hollywood but without the fame. Are they just a group of crazy, adrenaline junkies or is it all about the dynasty? While continuing the family legacy is indeed honorable, couldn't it be just as easy to honor family with a little bit safer of a pastime? Maybe they have been part of the business so long that fear is no longer a feeling they have, they've adapted to their lifestyle. It is very obvious that they don't fear injury or even death, but made it very clear that they are terrified of special affects taking away their careers. Since technology has enhanced and continues to enhance incredibly, this is a very valid fear. The only difference for me would be the fear that it won't radically improve fast enough for my grand-kids to get out of the business before they face a radical injury. I suppose that's why I plan on entering the health field instead of the stunt-double field.

Addams Family

Morticia Addams once said, “Normal is an illusion. What is normal for the spider is chaos for the fly.” This philosophy can be applied to many different situations in life such as: how your family acts, how you dress, and what interests you. My family, for instance, seems very strange to my friends; my parents,who actually like each other, often spend time together outside of the home. Although they find that outrageous, to me it seems like a normal, everyday occurrence. Another area of life that people tend to classify as normal and not normal is the way people dress. I abjure wearing revealing clothing because it makes me feel uncomfortable, but for many, low cut T-shirts and short skirts are the staples of their wardrobe. Does that mean I do not dress “normal”? No, it just means that my normal is different from their normal.  Aside from clothing and family, our interests are often another subject on the chopping block. I remember being in primary school and hiding the fact that I liked Star Wars,a sci-fi series of movies, books, television shows, and games; because another boy liked it and he got made fun of, I hid my interests to escape their torment. Our class had decided what was normal for themselves and applied it to everyone they knew. When we take the time to really think about the decisions we have made, we can see that our lives are often wrought from what other people decide is okay for us to like. After hearing Morticia’s quote, I realized all the things that I find normal are very much different from everyone else and that their opinions really shouldn't affect me. I haven’t listened to social norms since. Hopefully others will hear her wise words and experience the same epiphany as I.  

Platform 9 and 3/4

This evening, I had the privilege of reading Stephen King's take on the Harry Potter series called J.K. Rowling's Ministry Magic. Having read the series myself and read a few Stephen King novels, this article really jumped out at me: I was not disappointed. Within the article, King touched on the bad reviews that Rowling's book had received; he made it quite obvious that he did not agree with such views. King reasoned that Rowling accomplished a difficult task by appealing to not only children, but also adults, her talents grew with her characters, and the reader could feel her enjoyment in writing throughout the series. At one point, King even described the series as a "seven course feast", and the people who wrote the poor reviews sucked down all the courses and threw it all back up with no appreciation. While I have never really been aware of any reviews of the series, I have always enjoyed them. My mother and I would read a chapter every night before bed. Since I was so young, the concept of other people not enjoying them never even crossed my mind. Finding out people disliked such a huge part of your childhood can actually be quite unpleasant. It feels like they are insulting a piece of you that you held near and dear to your heart. I can only be grateful that as I learned of their distaste, I also got to hear the great words of Stephen King in supporting the magical words that have shaped not only me, but millions of others.